Outlaw Vices (third in The Crane Gang Series)manxman

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

His ass hurt. That was the thought resounding loudest in Craig's head as he rode along beside the herd of cattle beneath the hot sun. 

How in the hell did men do it?

Craig shifted slightly and Ezekiel rode up close beside him. Craig marveled at the change in his feelings toward the foreman. Instead of annoyance at having him close, Craig found a sort of peace in it and a heat in it all at once.

He glanced over at the giant of a man to see that Ezekiel was watching him with concern. "Are you alright?"

Craig nodded. "Never better," he assured him. "Thinking saddle cushions might just be the next big thing in the riding market."

When guilt filled Ezekiel's features, Craig was shocked. "I should have taken it easier on you." Ezekiel reached out and ran his fingertips across Craig's hand. "Do you want to take a break? We have all day to get this herd to the ranch."

As badly as Craig wanted to be tough and insist he didn't need a break, his pain won the battle. Ezekiel smiled and motioned toward a set of sparse trees that would provide them a bit of shade. "Let's take the cattle that way and hunker down a bit."

Craig had never been so happy to be off a horse in all his life as he was when he slipped off the mare. No sooner had his boots hit the dirt, Ezekiel was coming up behind him and wrapping him tightly in his arms.

Craig felt a moment of awkwardness. He was accustomed to being with women—and in those situations, he'd be the one to come up behind her. Not that Craig had ever done much in the way of cuddling. Whores didn't seem to have much time for things like that.

"Do you regret last night?" Ezekiel whispered, his breath washing over the tender skin beneath his ear. Craig trembled as the fear in that deep gruff voice registered in his mind. Ezekiel was worried....

Craig didn't want that. Hell, he wasn't sure what he wanted. Did he want to be with Ezekiel long term? Was he ready for that kind of commitment? Was Ezekiel looking for that relationship?

Was it time for Craig to settle down the way Jeb and Wyatt had and was Ezekiel the man to build that life with? But hadn't he decided that if he ever settled down it would be with a woman?

Shit.....He had no damn idea.

But he didn't regret the night before. He'd learned a hell of a lot about himself during the last few days he'd spent in that shack with Ezekiel. And last night had been......damn.

"You know me, Ezekiel. I'm not the regrets type."

"For once I have a reason to be grateful you're impulsive."

Craig pulled away and busied himself rummaging through his saddlebags for a piece of hardtack. He had to put some form of distance between them... Ezekiel's touch made him ache for more of what he now knew the man could give him, but it wasn't right.... Now when Craig wasn't a damn bit sure of what he wanted.

"Want one?" Craig asked, turning around with an extra biscuit in his hand.

Ezekiel nodded as he leaned against the crooked tree behind him. Craig couldn't read the man's face and had no real idea what he was thinking. He tossed him a biscuit and they ate in silence.

Craig sighed as he looked up at the fat white clouds in the sky. "What did last night mean?" he finally spoke. "For us, I mean."

Ezekiel was quiet for several long moments but Craig's gaze remained stubbornly fixed on the sky. "What do you want it to mean?"