“Mabel and Dolly cook it up every year. It’s a special recipe,” Lucas laughed. “It’s about ninety percent bourbon.”
“It’ll put hair on your chest,” I teased, taking a healthy swig of my own drink. The warmth spread through me immediately, adding to the glow I already felt.
“Speaking of Mabel,” Beau said, glancing around the crowded diner. “She was looking for you earlier, Diego. Something about a fence post?”
I winced, remembering the white fence I’d backed over. “We canworry about that later. First, I want to introduce Hayden to some folks.”
As if on cue, the door swung open, and a boisterous group entered, shaking snow from their coats. I recognized Logan Baker immediately, along with his partner Dakota and the other gay boys that lived over at the Baker Ranch.
“Perfect timing,” I grinned, guiding Hayden toward the newcomers. “There are some people you should definitely meet.”
Colt Dawson spotted us first, his face lighting up in recognition. He was arm-in-arm with his boyfriend Eli, both of them decked out in matching Christmas sweaters.
“Diego!” Colt called out, waving us over. “Merry Christmas, man!”
“Merry Christmas,” I replied, leading Hayden through the crowd. “Hayden, I want you meet Colt Dawson. He teaches bull ridin’ over at the Baker Ranch.”
Colt shook hands enthusiastically with Hayden, looking him up and down. “He’s quite the catch, Diego.”
“Hands off, slut,” I said, swatting him away. Then I turned to Eli, who was smiling from ear to ear. He loved the way Colt and I bickered. “And this is his boyfriend, Eli. He does the books for the ranch.”
Eli shook Hayden’s hand with a normal amount of gusto. “Nice to meet you. And ignore Colt. He’s an insatiable flirt.”
“I’m just giving compliments!” Colt shot back. “It’s called beingnice.”
“Right,” Eli muttered. “Let me point out the rest to you.” He stepped closer to Hayden, pointing to the others in turn. “That guy with the long hair and the grumpy look is Dakota. He works on the ranch. That guy, Logan, is the owner of the ranch and Dakota’s partner. The dark-haired guy with the ridiculously blue eyes is Dustin Corvus. He’s our big investor. Saved the ranch from foreclosure a couple years back. And that cute asshole is Alex, his boyfriend. He is absolutely trouble. It’s a good thing he and Diego don’t work on the same ranch because they’d get into far too much mischief.”
“Hey! I’m not that bad,” I said, grinning over at Alex. “The guy just knows how to have fun, okay?”
“Uh-huh,” Eli nodded. “The two of you have fun straight to the bottom of a whiskey bottle and then set things on fire.”
“Byaccident,” I corrected. “And it was only once.”
Eli just rolled his eyes, but I could see the grin spreading over Hayden’s face. He was enjoying this.
“And those two that just walked in,” Eli added, pointing to a long-haired cowboy in his late thirties and a cheerful, bouncy man ten-ish years younger. “That is Brooks and Rowan. Rowan is the town vet and Brooks… well, he’s a grumpy old farmer to be perfectly frank. Got a voice like an angel though.”
“Are they…?” Hayden started.
“Gayer than hell?” Eli finished with a nod. “Absolutely.”
Hayden turned back to me. “Is there something in the water here? There were fewer gay men than this at the nightclubs I used to go to back in California.”
I chuckled at Hayden’s bewilderment. “Sagebrush is like a magnet for queer cowboys. Don’t ask me why. Maybe it’s because once one of us feels welcome, we tell others.”
“It’s true,” Dakota said, approaching with a drink in hand. “Word gets around about which small towns are safe. Sagebrush might be tiny, but it’s special.”
Logan nodded, his arm sliding around Dakota’s waist. “We’ve all found our place here. Seems like you have too.” He extended his hand to Hayden. “Welcome to the family.”
I watched Hayden’s face as he shook Logan’s hand, saw the moment when something shifted in his expression—surprise melting into understanding, then something like relief. He hadn’t expected to find community here, certainly not one that would embrace him so readily.
“Thanks,” Hayden said, his voice a little rough with emotion. “It’s... nice to meet all of you.”
“Alright, enough with the formal introductions,” Coltannounced, slapping me on the back. “Let’s get these boys some real drinks and show them how we celebrate Christmas Eve in Sagebrush!”
Before I could protest, Colt was dragging us toward the makeshift bar, where Dolly was mixing what looked like dangerously strong cocktails.
“Two Christmas specials,” Colt ordered, ignoring our protests.
