Cam raised his voice. “You mean he’s back there in the hot tub being a laze?”
“Screw you, Halley.” He spoke plenty loud enough to be heard through the thing, and while he was fairly sure there wasn’t anybody there, he made sure not to be obscene. He didn’t want to get a bad reputation. He was trying to start a damn business after all.
Cam wandered in, looking like a wet dream in his Wranglers and straw hat, dark sunglasses hooked on the neck of his blue plaid shirt. “Look at you being all melty in the hot tub. You need one of these at your house.”
“Well, when I make a few million extra pennies, I’ll get right on that.” It would be cool, though, wouldn’t it? The girls would love it. They’d think it was a swimming pool and then I could just sleep in it all night long.” He laughed, and Cam kind of blinked at him. “What?”
Cam shrugged, the tops of his cheeks, turning as dark as if he got sunburned. “You’re just awful pretty when you laugh.”
Mitch blinked at him and took a deep breath, let it out slow. “Thank you.”
“Anytime.” Cam came to lean against the side of the tub. It was still pretty warm outside, and his button-down was rolled up at the sleeves.
There was something so hot about that man’s hands. They were leathery and tan, cut with as many scars as he had on his own. Where Mitch’s scars tended to be round, Cam’s were lines, as if somebody had drawn on his skin. He had a heavy gold watch on and a band on his right ring finger—a solid gold thing with a single sapphire in the center of it.
He had to wonder who’d given it to Cam, if it had been a lover. “Tell me about your ring.”
Cam lifted his hand, covered it with his left for a minute, and then put it back down, chuckling softly. “This is a gift from my grandpa. Daddy has one looks just like it. My Papaw wore one too. And I always thought it was a fine, fine look on a man. He died when I was in my early twenties with the cancer. Not a good thing, but thank God it was fast. Before he died, he slipped it off his finger, and he put it on my hand. Told me he didn’t want anybody fighting over it. Ramsey and Steven might fuss, so he just wanted to give it to me now because, you know, I was the one who was a rodeo man like him.” Cam grinned at him and nodded, and Mitch could tell that memory had hurt once upon a time but now it was fond and something to smile over instead ofweep about. “I’ve never taken it off unless I was in the hospital. I even rope with it, even if it makes me a fool.”
“I like that. I like it a lot.”
Cam nodded to him, brows drawing down. “I was sorry to hear about your folks. I didn’t know until Momma told me just recently.”
“Yeah. Thank you.”
That was a topic where he had a lot of things to think about—some of them were good and lots of them weren’t—and he tried not to dwell.
They’d all made mistakes, and then Daddy had made the mistake that was the biggest one of them all. Then there wasn’t any way for anybody to make up after that.
Cam finally sat on one of the folding chairs in the room, pulling it out and opening it up so he could plop down.
“So, you got any plans for the rest of the day, man? I know therapy wrings you out.”
Mitch bit back a smile because every time they dipped a toe into something more personal than the weather or what they were planning to do out at the ranch, Cam would back it off a little bit. Oh, he was happy to tell a story and to listen to Mitch’s but he could only do it for so long and then suddenly he was Mr. Noncommittal again.
“Well, I think I am gonna take a nap when we get home.” Mitch grinned at him. “I worked my ass off today. You have no idea how many lat pull-downs I did.”
“Yeah, I’m going to have to start hitting the gym myself.”
Mitch knew his eyebrows had just flown up, but he couldn’t stop it for all it was worth. “Youneed to hit the gym. What’s the matter? Are you getting a love handle on your pinky finger or something?”
“No.” Cam chuckled. “But I am eating a lot of chicken fingers and spaghetti. I’m not a big low-carb guy like some of the bronc riders or bull riders, but…”
“But you work like a dog. I don’t understand how anybody who’s outside with the horses, and the nails, and hammers, and boards, and barrels can possibly be gaining weight.” Mitch gave Cam a slow appraisal, knowing he was the one who was mostly naked, but it didn’t matter.
Cam’s cheeks went pink. “Well, it’s more about working the muscles that I need to work for roping and stuff.”
“Well then, you need to take a day off and go to the roping pen more often.”
Cam scoffed. “True that. I need to get out there and do some work. Fire’s gonna get fat and lazy out of the two of us.”
“Hey, how did it ever go with that mare?” Hadn’t Cam been fixing to buy a mare so he could start some breeding stock stuff? He didn’t remember seeing anybody bring that filly home.
“I pick her up on Monday.” Cam’s grin spoke volumes. He looked tickled as a pig in shit. “She’s a good girl. I am gonna have to keep her and Fire separated, but not all the time.”
“I thought he was a gelding.” Didn’t that mean they could be penned together?
“He is, but he’s a jealous son of a bitch. He could really hurt her when she first comes home. So they’re going to get penned separately to begin with, and then I’ll introduce them just a little bit at a time.” Cam gave him a serious, sort of stern look. It was hot. “We got to make sure the girls stay out of there when they’re together and stay out of Fire’s stall. When I first bring this mare home, he’s gonna be mad.”
