The Wild Bunch: Stace by Deirdre O’Dare  www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure/TWB_Stace.html

Blurb:

Stace, Spark and Cass have been best buddies since their high school rodeo days. Now they work for a very special guest ranch that caters to gay men who need a break and escape from their high stress fast lane lives. Rainbow Ranch has a reputation for providing precisely the Wild West adventures each guest needs and desires with the cowboys of their hottest dreams. Stace does not intend to fall for a guest””it’s never happened before. Why now? What is so unique about this one?

Jared Langford runs a cutting edge edutainment media company and wishes he could put aside the burdens of management and be valued for himself and not his prestige. He has grown to fear that’s an empty dream. Persuaded to take a week long vacation on a guest ranch in New Mexico, he finds exactly the reprieve he needs and all the thrills he could hope for. The experiences may just turn his whole life around and set him on a very different course.

Excerpt:  (This is where Stace and Jared meet, neither yet aware of how key this will be!)

Rainbow Ranch, NM 

Eustace “Stace” Jones followed his two buddies into their boss’s studiedly rustic office, spurs jingling. They’d been summoned for an early morning staff meeting. That usually meant some important clients were coming, guests Jason Longford wanted to be sure received the very best Rainbow Ranch could offer.

Stace and his best friends, Joshua “Spark” Diamond and Carlos “Casanova”–Casa for short–Casanueva were among the best at finding exactly what a guest desired and fulfilling those wishes to the letter. The three cowboys settled into the red-and-white, hair-on leather upholstered chairs circled around Jason’s desk and looked at their employer expectantly.

“There’s a very special client coming in day after tomorrow,” Jason said, “and for this one, I’ve got to stay invisible. I can’t let him see me. In time, the reasons will be clear, but for now all you need to know is I’m putting his care and entertainment in your hands. They’re very capable hands. I trust the three of you a hundred and ten percent. Give this guy your best.”

Stace glanced at Spark, who nodded, his blue eyes sparkling like azure gems.

“You’ve got it, boss. You know our best is damn good.”

Casa agreed. “We’ve been taking care of your special customers for quite a while and doing a top notch job, haven’t we?”

“Yes, you have. That’s why I’m willing to risk being away while this guy is here.” Jason smiled at each of them in turn. “I know you’ll find out exactly what he wants in the way of adventures of all kinds and see that he gets every fantasy satisfied.”

“You bet, boss,” Stace said. “With the three of us to take care of him, you can bet he’ll have anything and everything he could desire.”

Even though there would be other guests, they’d juggle things to keep all of them happy. Marcus Melendez, a well to do Texan who’d visited before, would arrive first, followed by someone called Louie Garbona and then this unnamed mystery man on Saturday. Usually each cowboy took a guest as his special charge, but they collaborated when something beyond one-on-one activities came up and, of course, managed the regular guest ranch-type excursions and events as a team.

Curiosity nibbled in the back of Stace’s mind. It sure wasn’t normal for Jason to leave the three of them in charge this way. Ordinarily, he was right there, overseeing and taking part in everything. What could there be about this particular client that would require him to remain hidden and anonymous? Jason had said it would be clear in time, but Stace was not a patient man. He wished they knew right now.

The three rose and filed out together. Spark turned first to Stace and then to Casa. “Well, bros, what do you think?”

The three of them had been partners and best friends since they’d started doing high school rodeo together some twelve years ago. Then they’d done their stint with the PRCA until they all decided to quit while they were still ahead financially and each in one piece. Rodeo could be one rough game. If you walked away with a few bucks in your jeans before you ended up a basket case, you were a lucky sucker. They all recognized when it was time to find another gig.

By coincidence, they’d met Jason more or less by accident about the time they decided to leave the circuit. They’d all taken to the older man at once, and he to them. So they were the first hands he’d hired when he started his guest ranch–one with a special focus. The “Rainbow” name honored both their racial and ethnic mix and Jason’s plan to cater to a mostly gay clientele.

He had a couple of cowgirls on the staff and occasionally hosted lesbian clients and a few bisexuals, but most of the people who came were gay men, seeking something different from the partners they found in their upscale high-roller lives. They wanted outdoor Wild West action plus some amorous adventures on the side–with real cowboys. Rainbow provided both–in spades.

The three cowboys found their pay exceptional, the work more fun than labor and the situation one that allowed them to stick together and indulge their whims, whatever those might be. In between clients, they took pleasure with each other and then singly and in combination with the guests.

Heaven could not be much better, Stace decided. I’m for sure one lucky motha! In slightly different terms, Spark and Casa would say the same thing.

Even before the latest batch of guests arrived, they’d portioned them out. Spark would take the Texan, Casa would host Louie and the mystery man was left to Stace. He wasn’t sure whether to be happy or dismayed, but he had grown accustomed to representing Rainbow Ranch to a new guest, even some special ones. This man was coming in on a private jet owned by an outfit called Montague Productions. Stace would meet him on the general aviation side of the Las Cruces, NM International Airport.

He pulled the ranch pickup in beside the designated hanger about ten minutes early. For mid-September, the day had turned unusually hot. He managed to get the truck in a strip of shade on the hangar’s north side. After rolling down the windows, he strolled around to the office area at the front to wait.

Within a few minutes, the sleek Learjet rolled in. A tall, slender man alighted…a man with sandy hair lightly touched with gray and keen gray eyes–a totally familiar looking man, except he wore crisp chinos and a striped golf shirt instead of Wrangler shirt and jeans.

Stace gulped. What kind of fuckin’ game is this? Why’s Jason pretending to be a client? Then he noticed a few subtle differences between the stranger and his boss, just enough to prove they weren’t identical twins or mirror images of one another. Some weird coincidence, anyway.

The man strode over to him. “You from Rainbow Ranch?”

Stace nodded. “Yes, sir, I am. Show me where your bags are, and I’ll get them loaded so we can head on out. It’s about a two-hour drive to the ranch.”

Instead, the man extended a hand to him. “Jared Langford. This is my first time here, really my first time at a ranch of any kind. I’m not sure what I’m in for, but I do expect an exceptional vacation.”

Stace gave him a big smile. “Mr. Langford, seeing that you get exactly what you want is part of my job. You can bet I’ll do my best to meet your every expectation.”

By then a crewman had a couple of duffle bags unloaded from the plane. Stace slung them into the pickup and then opened the passenger door for Mr. Langford. The man climbed in, glanced around the luxurious interior of the new Dodge Ram and smiled. “Looks like you folks are a class act all the way if this is an example.”

Stace nodded. “Yes, sir. We want our clients to feel comfortable and right at home.” He still had to school his features whenever he looked at the other man. The resemblance to his boss was uncanny. They’ve gotta be related. Having almost the same last name made it seem even more likely. But Jason had told them not to mention him at all, so Stace knew he’d have to hold his curiosity at bay for now.

He suspected he’d have plenty to keep him busy anyway. Something told him this client would be a challenge and one who could require all three of them to take care of him. Fortunately, Jason never accepted more than two or three special clients in at a time. Individual attention had become a Rainbow Ranch trademark.

* * * *

As the handsome African American cowboy steered the big Dodge up the highway, first west on Interstate 10 and then north on an old-fashioned two-lane road, Jared looked around. A dark bulk of mountains loomed to the north, the direction Jared felt they’d headed. From the literature about Rainbow Ranch, he suspected those hulking mountains were the Gilas and the ranch was located in the southern edges just outside the Gila and Leopold Wilderness Areas. Great location–hunting in season, pack trips, fishing and scenic photography were just some of the offerings, he knew, having read up on the region on the net before he left home.

Meanwhile, the road passed between fenced areas with grass and a few shrubs and small trees, an arid but not desolate landscape. Certainly California’s Mojave Desert had less in the way of foliage and visual interest. In the distance, he saw a few herds of cattle, some black, a few white or cream-colored, and others the traditional Hereford red-and-white.

He might as well learn what he could. Turning to the cowboy, he studied the man’s classic profile and the breadth of shoulders that strained the fabric of a brightly striped cowboy shirt.

“Have you worked here long?”

“About three years, Mr. Langford. Me and a couple of buddies were among the first hands the boss-man hired. We really enjoy our work.”

Jared smiled to himself. Now how do I ask this most important question? “So does the name Rainbow Ranch have a special meaning?”

“Oh, yes, sir. It’s kind of for the three of us, the head wranglers ’cause we’re a rainbow trio. Spark is white, a big, blond guy born in Texas. Casa is Latino and, as you can guess, I’m mostly Africa American. We’ve been best friends since we all got into high school rodeo together. It means a lot to be working together this way. Then, of course, it’s no secret, most of the guests at the ranch are gay. We–well, our boss–figured that family-type places might not appeal to gay men, but they’d likely enjoy some authentic Wild West fun as much as anyone, so that’s part of the rainbow, too.”

“I hoped that was the case, but even if it wasn’t, I needed to get away and be so occupied I forget all about my normal life and business for a few days. All my people were pushing me to take a break. I guess I’d become damn near unbearable.”

The cowboy slid a glance his way and grinned. “Why, you seem like a mighty nice man, Mr. Langford. I bet all the folks who work for you love you. Our boss is a nice guy, too, but he’s away for a while on some other business. He trusts us to run things in his absence, and we’re planning to show you a fine time.”

By now, the road had begun to wind its way up into higher country. Soon they turned off onto a gravel road and then passed beneath a rustic arch with a hanging plank sign. In old west script it read “Rainbow Ranch” and featured a brand with an arc over two twined Rs. A couple more miles and they pulled up beside a huge, rambling stone-and-log lodge, not quite a replica of the Ponderosa, but a structure with the same atmosphere and old western charm. A scattering of cabins nestled in niches around the woodsy perimeter.

Jared already felt more relaxed than he had in weeks. This was going to be a memorable vacation. He just knew it.