Free Sunset Ridge by Carol Lynne Page B

day. He hated leaving in the middle of the night to go back to his room before Raleigh woke up. Hours had been spent daydreaming about a life out of the closet lately, but he couldn’t do it until he was positive things would work out with Ram.
    Ram ground himself against Gray as the kiss continued. Gray had no doubt the front of his pants were wet with pre-cum by the time their lip-lock ended. “Guess that means you’re happy to see me,” Gray gasped.
    Ram rubbed his erection against Gray’s. “It went well with Carlson, didn’t it?”
    “Yeah, it did. He promised to call me first thing next week.” Gray reached between them and unzipped his dress pants. “He’s agreed to pay a deposit, but we won’t get the rest of the money until January when the ladies drop their foals.”
    Gray still couldn’t believe it. Andrew Carlson was almost too good to be true. For years Gray had watched his father try to break into the upper circles of the racehorse community to no avail. Sunset Ridge Stables had always done well, but most of the money had been hard won. The deal with Carlson for all the Thoroughbreds sired by He’s a Champion would be enough to completely pay off the mortgage he’d taken out to buy the prize-winning racehorse, as well as buy the two Barb stallions he still had his eye on. At the time, his dad had called him a fool for risking his inheritance, but Gray had always believed you had to spend money to make it.
    “It’s the biggest deal this ranch has ever seen,” Gray said as Ram wrapped a hand around his cock. “It still doesn’t seem real.”
    “It’s real,” Ram assured him. “Although Carlson tried to play it cool, I could see how impressed he was with the operation you’ve built up.”
    Gray smiled. “Probably didn’t hurt that Andrew’s father let He’s a Champion slip through his fingers.”
    Despite Ram’s firm grip on his cock, Gray had other things on his mind. “You mind if we just talk?” Gray asked.
    “I’m not losing my touch, am I?”
    Gray chuckled. “Not in the slightest. I just feel so good right now I want to enjoy it for what it is.”
    “And you think sex will cloud that?” Ram asked.
    “Sex is a completely different emotion. I guess I want to bask in the fact that I’ve done something my father never could.” Gray gave Ram a quick kiss. “Does that make me a bastard?”
    Ram stepped back and led Gray to the couch. “Not at all. I just hate to see you get too excited before the foals are delivered and the cheque’s cleared.”
    Gray shook his head. He refused to let anything pull him down from his present high. “Doesn’t matter if Carlson backs out or not. Knowing how bad he wants them tells me he wouldn’t be the only one. If something goes wrong with this deal, I’ll find another.”
    With a sigh, Gray leant back against Ram’s chest. “Six weeks. All we have to do is keep the mares healthy and calm until the first of January.”

    * * * *

    Walking into the house, Gray stopped in his tracks at the sound of laughter coming from the kitchen. He crept closer to the swinging door that separated the dining room from the kitchen and listened as Raleigh regaled Georgia with a story about falling on her ass at a pep rally.
    It wasn’t the story itself that amused Gray so much, it was hearing Raleigh laugh. He suddenly realised he hadn’t heard her laugh in a very long time. A large part of him wanted to push the door open and join in, but he was afraid of interrupting the special moment that the two women of the house were obviously sharing.
    “Aren’t you going to be with your family for Thanksgiving?” Raleigh asked Georgia.
    Gray held his breath. Georgia’s husband had died before she’d come to live at Sunset Ridge and her only child had refused to speak with her for the last three years. He still wasn’t exactly sure what the fight had been about, but he’d heard a rumour in town that Georgia’s son, David, had got a girl pregnant and