Xander did as she asked while she set her things down in one of the grooming stalls. They got to work. Xander put the horses out in the paddock, leading Luna to Bailey last. Xander kept an eye on Wright as much as he could. He directed him to start with Luna’s stall, explaining the process as simply as he could. They were going to do a deep clean today which meant more work than the typical cleaning.
It was hard work for a first day, but Wright never complained once. He did take off the hoodie about a half hour into the work. Unfortunately for Xander, he was wearing a plain tee underneath. They worked side-by-side to get each stall done properly. Wright nearly toppled the wheelbarrow on his way to dump it the first time so Xander took over that job. They didn’t compost the shavings themselves, but one of the neighboring ranches with a greenhouse and garden came over to collect it from them twice a week. They kept it in large plastic containers that the neighbors provided them with. It was something new that Patrick had started over a year ago.
Bailey continued to care for the horses one at a time. She was saving Benito for last so Xander could wash him. Wright continued to work, checking with Xander that he was doing everything right. He surprised Xander with how hard and thorough he was working. And he did a great job. He scrubbeddown the walls and hauled the feed and fresh hay into the buckets and hayrack. Xander laughed when Wright called out for him, only to find him struggling to reach the top of the hayrack. Xander promised he was laughing with him, not at him. But then he called him shorty for the next half hour each time he used the step ladder. He refilled the water buckets too. They would let the floors and walls dry for a bit before putting down the fresh bedding over the rubber mats.
It was close to ten when they finished the last stall. Wright leaned his back against the wall and sighed. “This is a lot more work than I thought. You do this twice a day?”
“No,” Xander said with a small chuckle. “This was a full cleaning. Figured I would just throw you in the deep end today. Typically, we would just clean out the poop and urine, refresh the food and bedding if needed. It would take a third of the time it did today. But you did great today.”
“And what’s my reward for doing such a good job?” Wright raised his eyebrows and Xander moved toward him. He kept his movements clean, remembering the last time he’d moved suddenly and Wright freaked out a little. He knew what he was suggesting, but they still had work to do. Wright only thought he was done. Xander brushed his hair back and leaned down to kiss him quickly.
“You’re going to meet Benito properly and we’re going to give him a bath.”
Wright sighed but his smile was still there. “Not the reward I was hoping for, but it’s fine.”
“We have a lot of work to finish today. What do you think I do while you’re usually out there mowing and keeping the houses cleaned up? Since the ground is all wet and you can’t do that today, I’m taking full advantage of using you.”
“Please use me however you so desire,” Wright said in a dramatic tone. He reached up to wrap his hands around theback of Xander’s neck and pulled him back in for another kiss. They stayed like that for a minute before a whistle caught their attention. Bailey was coming back in the barn with Benito. Patrick was with her too, carrying bags of food and a gallon of what Xander hoped was Tracy’s sweet tea.
“We’ll take a break and then get back to it,” Xander said. Patrick handed off the food and they moved to sit outside while Bailey finished her work.
“How did last night go?” Patrick asked. They were sitting on the porch of the guest house. Wright nodded, a small smile forming around the bite of the sandwich he chose.
“It was fun,” Wright said. “The guys are really great. Paxton and Clark taught me how to dance, which was an experience.”
“Paxton told me that she drove by your old house.” Xander shot a look at his older brother, silently scolding him for bringing it up so quickly. But Wright just shrugged.
“It’s for sale, which was surprising, I guess. I don’t know where he would go, but I’m assuming it means he has no intention of coming back for me.”
“Are you okay with that?” Xander asked, his tone much more comforting than his brother’s. He’d been thinking of ways to talk to him about this and it wasn’t out in the open. Maybe he was being too protective, but Wright was doing so much better now. He didn’t want to risk him taking any steps back.
“I am,” Wright said. “Obviously, I didn’t want to see him again after what happened, but then the more I got to know this family and all the people that created Found Family Ranch, I don’t even consider him family anymore.”
Xander felt pride swelling in his chest. Wright had been stubborn at first, but once he realized he was safe with their family, he put in the work to get better. He didn’t have to worry about being perfect around them. He worked hard and did hisjobs thoroughly. Xander was proud to be part of the Lawson family, but he was just as proud to have Wright next to him.
“I know we talked about it a while ago, but did you have any plans for when the school year started?”
“I missed the deadlines,” Wright said easily. “I don’t know if school is really for me anyway. I never was that great of a student. I really just applied to have an excuse to get out of the house.”
“But you work hard,” Xander added. “That goes further than a grade in school with work like we do.”
“It does and if my brother would shut up with the compliments, he would see where I was going with these questions.” Xander turned his head to stare at his brother, but Wright was beside him laughing.
“I’m quite alright with the compliments,” Wright said. “What did you want to ask?”
“You know Paxton is moving out next month to live in the dorms at the university. Usually, she’s my go-to for grooming and barn work. I was watching you in here with Xander and you do work hard, Wright. It’s a quality trait. I wanted to ask if we spent the next few weeks training you and getting you comfortable with the routine, if you would want to move more to working with the horses instead of the yard work.
“William and Brett got a new application in for one of the houses and the guy comes from a farm in another state. He’s noted that he’s willing to work on the ranch in whatever capacity he can. You’ve been here longer and you are family, so I wanted to give you the choice.”
“I’d love to,” Wright said quickly. “I really enjoyed the work this morning and I promise that I am working through the issues that are still holding me back.”
“I don’t doubt that, Wright, and it’s none of my business. I just need to know that you’ll be safe and careful around thehorses. If you want, I can put you on the schedule to follow Paxton and Xander for a few days this week to get you used to doing the stalls. They are pretty repetitive so it gets easy to do them with one or two people. A few of our ranch hands are heading out at the end of the summer for one reason or another, so we’re going through a bit of a shift, hiring some people, moving others around. If you’re sure, I’d love for you to be full time working with us.”
“Seriously?” Wright sat up straighter. He’d been working only a few days a week so far, earning just enough to pay Xander for his phone and to put a little aside. Not that he spent the money. He had it all saved up in a box on the top shelf of their closet. Wright was too short to reach it, a thought that was funny at the time for Xander. Still was, if he was honest. He wanted to pay part of the rent that Xander paid, but he refused to let him do that. At least up until now. “I would love that. I accept. Whatever the words are to say it.”
“Good. Finish up your lunch and I’ll let you get back to it. I’m going to drive out to check on things with the cattle. Xander, we’re planning on moving them to the next field on Monday so stock up in the morning. A few of them are being sold and loaded on Tuesday as well as that class coming for the trail ride. Then Starlin Ranch is coming by Wednesday, we have that meeting with the FFR board Thursday. It’s going to be a busy week.”
Xander stood with his brother and walked away from the house, far enough that Wright couldn’t hear them. They ended up standing next to his truck. “You know Wright is going to put his all into those horses.”
