Chapter Seventeen

The next day found Craig and Ezekiel riding side by side to survey and repair fences in the more distant pasture and fields. They could certainly stay out overnight and have it be perfectly acceptable—everyone would believe they'd gotten too busy with work to make it back in one day.

Craig grinned. He had far too few overnights with Ezekiel. They were forced to sleep apart in the bunkhouse and one night a week in town simply wasn't quite enough.

He'd been a bit shocked last night when Ezekiel had admitted his past to him. He'd picked up enough hints from Ezekiel and had seen enough of the signs to know that the man had killed in the past—but he hadn't realized the extent of just how bad Ezekiel had been.

He'd be lying if he said it didn't bother him slightly to think of Ezekiel as that man he'd described—but it also didn't deter him. What Ezekiel had been in the past, it was clear that wasn't the man he was any longer.

And, hell, Craig had been a cattle thief, horse thief, anything-that-wasn't-nailed-down-and-he-wanted thief. While those might not sound as bad as cold-blooded murder, they were still hanging offenses. And Craig had killed men as well—always in self-defense but taking a life was taking a life.

Craig wasn't about to turn his back on Ezekiel when the man had finally opened up to him just as Craig had wanted him to. And he hadn't given Ezekiel any grief over his past either. Ezekiel seemed to give himself a hard enough time, there was no need for Craig to make it worse.

"What are you thinking about so hard?" Ezekiel's voice broke through his thoughts.

"What makes you think I'm thinking?"

Ezekiel chuckled. "You're not talking."

"Are you missing the sound of my voice?" Craig asked with a wink.

Ezekiel snorted as he shook his head. "Not particularly." A half grin curved his mouth. "Just worried you might overheat that brain of yours."

"Charming," Craig mumbled. Then he sighed. "Actually, I have been thinking a lot about something lately."

"What's that?" Ezekiel asked, squinting into the sun.

"My family. This is the longest I've ever been away from them."

Ezekiel glanced sideways at him and picked at his horse's mane. "Do you want to go home?"

Craig quickly averted his gaze. 'Not without you,' was what he wanted to say, but he knew he couldn't. He had no idea if Ezekiel thought of him as anything more than a fun for now, kind of person. Going home to meet the family was asking a hell of a lot out of a person.

"I thought it might be nice to go for a visit.... Do you think Edison would let me keep my job here if I left for a while?"

When Craig glanced over at Ezekiel, the man was tense in the saddle and his jaw was twitching as he stared straight ahead, his eyes burning holes in the horizon. "You'd have to ask him that. I don't speak for him. He's a fair man, though. I'm sure he'd work with you."

Craig scratched at his jaw. "Are you angry? Do you not want me to go?"

Ezekiel shook his head. "No. Go. Not all people have a family. It'd be foolish not to spend time with yours."

Craig was confused. It was clear Ezekiel was angry about something. But what? Swallowing hard, Craig stared hard at Ezekiel's profile. Did the other man want an invitation? Did he want to come meet Craig's family?

"Uh..." Craig struggled to come up with a subtle way to get around to asking, but nothing came to mind. So he shrugged and decided to be as straightforward as he could. "You want to come with me?"

Ezekiel's head whipped around and his dark eyes fell on him. Craig suddenly wondered if he'd asked the wrong question but then he saw the smile light up the other man's face. "You'd want me with you?"

Sitting up a little higher in the saddle, Craig chuckled. "Sure. You can tell them all how good I'm doing so my brother won't glare at me the whole time."

"I don't know about that. I spend most of my time glaring at you."

Craig attempted to resist the urge to stick his tongue out at the other man but failed. Ezekiel laughed. "Are you sure you want me to go? I don't want to stick myself where I'm not wanted."

Craig wagged his brows. "You're always welcome to stick yourself when it comes to me."

A thick brow raised slightly at Craig's response. "I'll keep that in mind." Then his expression sobered. "What are we when we get there?"

"Uh.... People... unless you want to be a horse."

Ezekiel rolled his eyes. "I mean, how are you going to introduce me. As your friend or....?"

"Are you my friend?"

"Hell no." Ezekiel grinned. "We sure as hell aren't friends."

"I didn't think so," Craig replied. "We're together and that's what I'll tell them. I've told you before that my brother has a man and so does my best friend. It won't be odd to them and we won't have to hide it.... Though, seeing as how my brother was always onto me about my fondness for lots and lots of women, I'll never hear the end of it when I show up with a man."

"Still seems a bit strange to me that so many men can live together and as couples without folks protesting."

Craig laughed as they pulled their horse's to a stop at the first section of fence they were out to repair. "Once you meet them, you'll understand. They aren't they types of men you want to stand against."

The two men dismounted and immediately got to work on the fences. Craig knew they needed to keep their hands busy—because if they got started with each other before the work was done, the work would never be thought of again.

It seemed so odd to him, knowing that he'd found someone who made him forget everyone else. Craig had always been a womanizer. Hell, he'd had more bed partners than everyone else in the gang combined!

Speaking of the gang.... If Craig was going to take Ezekiel to meet them, he had to let Ezekiel know who they were. Jeb might pitch a fit since they were all supposed to be dead but Craig trusted Ezekiel with the secret.

"There's actually something I need to talk to you about," Craig admitted, swiping at his brow and turning to face Ezekiel.

The other man dropped his tools and pulled Craig into his arms. "What's that?"

Craig rolled his eyes even as his body heated. "I meant talk. It was secret code for 'get some lovin'."

Ezekiel winked down at him. "Everything is secret code for 'get some lovin'."

Craig sighed as his body molded to fit perfectly against the bigger man's. "You're impossible."

Ezekiel swooped low and nibbled at Craig's neck, causing him to moan low in his throat. "I want to talk to you...."he somehow managed to whisper.

Ezekiel pulled his face away but didn't release Craig from his arms. "Talk then."

Craig took a moment to steady himself after Ezekiel's assault. "The gang I was in, my family, I should probably tell you who we are."

"The Crane gang."

Craig's jaw dropped as he stared up at Ezekiel. "Uh..." For once in his life, Craig was speechless.

Ezekiel chuckled. "It wasn't too difficult to figure out. I'd heard about that gang, the timeline fit and I recognized some of the names you've mentioned."

"Well hell...." Craig mumbled. "Didn't you know the Crane gang died?"

Ezekiel's lips curved in a mischievous half smile just before he swooped down and pressed a breath-stealing kiss to Craig's mouth. "You taste good for a dead man," he growled as he pulled away.

Gripping onto Ezekiel's thick arms to steady himself, Craig cursed his weak legs. "Jeb would kill me if he knew I'd given the gang's identity away before I meant to."

"I won't tell him if you don't."

Craig somehow managed to untangle himself from Ezekiel's grasp. "We need to get some work done. I'd like to go visit them soon and Edison might be more agreeable about us leaving if we have these fences done."

"I'd rather keep tasting you," Ezekiel all but pouted.

Craig winked. "Of course you would. I'm delicious."

Ezekiel's gaze went skyward. "And humble. You're right. Let's get back to work before your head swells."

As the two men returned to the task at hand, Ezekiel cleared his throat. "I am a bit uneasy about meeting your brother's man."

"Gill?" Craig frowned. "Why? He's nothing to worry about. He's a nice enough man and I knew his pa Rafe real well and his mama lives nearby in town. Outlaw royalty is what they are."

"I happen to know him better as Gilliam Tomlinson, Texas Ranger royalty."

Craig winced. "Damn. Was he after you?"

Ezekiel's quiet chuckle filled the mid-morning air. "No, thankfully. I heard that he and his partner rarely failed to catch up to a target and it was even more rare for them to keep that target alive for a trial. No, I was already on the path to straightening up before he began making patrols. But I did meet him once and he sure as hell knew who I was and seemed mad as hell cuz I had a pardon and he couldn't legally kill me."

Craig was quiet a moment and then a laugh burst from his mouth. "Well, that oughta make it real fun when we come riding in together!"