The Wild Bunch 3 Casa Read Online Free Page A

off one horse, while Stace trimmed the hooves and tacked new ones on another. Casa jumped when his cell phone vibrated against his right hip where he wore it clipped on his belt. Dropping the Paint's leg, he fumbled for the phone. The short text on the screen snagged his total attention. Need U N office. The words came from Jason, of course. An icy chill snaked down Casa's spine, along with an immediate hunch something was wrong.
    "Gotta go take care of somethin'," he said to Spark as he headed from the barn. "Be back to finish with old Splash in a bit." The red-and-white Paint had gained the name both for his splotchy coat pattern and his habit of ducking his head in the water trough and shaking it with wild abandon, splattering water everywhere.
    Casa led the horse into a stall so he could relax until the cowboy returned. He hoped it would not be long. If it was, Spark had sense enough to see to the horse.
    "Okey-dokie." Spark muttered his response around a mouthful of horseshoe nails. He did not even look up as Casa hurried past him.
    When Casa got to the main house, he went straight to the office, skidding to a stop when he saw Jason on the floor. Clearly, the other man had slipped and fallen and now could not get up without some help. His right knee and ankle were both immobilized by the cast. He wore only a pair of cutoffs and moccasins since the weather had turned warm and he wasn't outdoors much these days.
    "Hey, boss, you aren't supposed to work on the floor," Casa said. "What happened?"
    Clearly embarrassed to be helpless, even briefly, Jason muttered a curse. "I was getting some paperwork out of the file cabinet, bottom drawer. Damn phone rang. When I turned around to go answer it, my lousy cast slipped on the tiles. I couldn't grab anything fast enough to keep on my fuckin' feet. Son of a bitch! Why did I have to do something so stupid?"
    Casa wasn't sure if Jason referred to his current predicament or the initial arena accident, but his heart went out to the other man. It was no fun to be stove up, hurting and not able to manage your normal routine. He sensed how embarrassed and angry Jason felt and tried to handle the situation with as much calm panache as he could.
    "Shit happens. You didn't hurt yourself any more, did you?"
    Jason shook his head and snorted. "Only my pride. If you can give me a hand to get back on my feet, we can try to forget this happened."
    Casa stooped, allowing his boss to put one arm over his shoulders. With his own arm around Jason's body, Casa straightened and lifted. Using his sound leg, the other man levered himself up. Once back on his feet, Jason swayed a few seconds, trying to regain his balance. The foot-square tiles that floored the office were shiny as glass and almost as slick. The metal heel bracket on the cast wanted to slide on them like the blade of a skate.
    Keeping his arm around Jason's waist, Casa held him steady. All at once, a keen slash of awareness swept through him. As dark eyes met hazel, Casa saw Jason felt it, too. He'd already experienced a warm joy knowing Jason had chosen to call him instead of one of the others. The trust that choice implied meant a great deal. Now, standing intimately close, near enough to feel each other's suddenly accelerating heartbeats and quickened breath, that warmth escalated to a searing heat.
    Casa lifted his free arm, brushed his fingertips along the lightly stubbled line of Jason's jaw. He looked into the clear steady eyes inches from his and saw the tangled emotions mirroring his own. Jason's lips quirked, one corner lifting in a crooked grin. Beneath Casa's other hand, the bare skin of Jason's back felt warm and inviting.
    "Hey, is this a simple case of proximity and maybe goin' without too long...or something else?" Jason's words seemed to be meant as a joke, yet they still sounded intense, laden with meaning.
    Against his hip, Casa felt the throb of Jason's cock through the layers of denim. His own had gone iron-hard in