Chapter 20

Austin left two happy girls in Emma’s bedroom with orders to get food. He’d thrown on his jeans but was shirtless as he walked into a full-blown orgy.

Liz was bouncing up and down in Liam’s lap while Peter nailed her sister, Hailey, who was bent over the table. Lawrence had shown up, and Madison was giving him head. Oliver and Hannah were missing, but Austin heard noises coming from Oliver’s bedroom, so he made a wild-ass assumption about what they were up to.

Austin looked in the kitchen and failed to find the burgers or hot dogs, so he walked out back, where he found them in the cooler. Austin cracked a beer and put food on the grill. Everyone would be hungry in a little while.

He’d flipped the burgers when Emma and Madison came out with paper plates and buns.

“Where’s Steph?” Austin asked.

“She’s with Lawrence,” Madison answered.

“It wouldn’t be a Club DTF party without Steph,” Emma said.

“You guys need t-shirts. I can create a logo for you, and Hannah’s brother owns a print shop that makes stuff like that. If you ask, I’m sure she can talk him into doing it for cost,” Madison said.

“I’ll make the call for the group and ask her to do it,” Emma said.

Madison gave them a sly look.

“I wondered what was going on down here. I assumed you guys just watched a lot of porn. If I’d known what was really happening, I would’ve been down sooner. My boyfriend went south for the summer, and I’ve been debating whether I should find a summer fling,” Madison said. “But this club would solve my lack-of-a-man issue.”

“I moved here six weeks ago because I let the little head do too much thinking for me,” Austin admitted. “With my fresh start, I’d decided to be a good boy, but that’s failed, and I’m now a bit worried I might be out of control.”

“Sounds like you’ve been around some. How many girls have you been with since you moved here?” Madison asked.

Austin had to mentally run through the list: Emma, Stacy, Mia, Steph, and Naomi Draper. If he counted Shea, that was six.

“Six,” Austin said.

“You’ve had sex six times or with six different people?” Madison asked.

“Different girls.”

“Man-whore,” she called him with a grin.

“I would call him more of a player because I would bet every girl on his list would come running if he called,” Emma said.

“Why’s that?” Madison asked, suddenly interested.

Austin noticed the burgers were done, so he stepped over to the grill while Emma and Madison whispered back and forth. He stacked the cooked burgers on a platter, then opened the packages of hot dogs and put them on to roast.

Madison and Emma grabbed the chips, condiments, and buns and made themselves plates. They took their food inside while continuing to whisper back and forth.

Austin wasn’t paying attention, and two of the hot dogs must have been in a hot spot because they looked crispy. He quickly pulled them off before they became briquettes. While the other dogs finished cooking, he grabbed a couple of buns to eat his mistakes. When you lived on the range and cooked over a campfire, slightly burned hot dogs were the norm.

That made Austin reflect on what he would’ve been doing at that moment if he were still in Montana. He and his dad would be in some mountain valley, tending to a herd of cows. They would take a break and go fly-fishing for trout for dinner. Austin missed shore-cooked fish; nothing was more satisfying than eating something you’d caught yourself.

He wondered if he might persuade his mom to let him fly back to Montana the next summer. Austin figured it was a long shot, but if he started working on her now, he might wear her down.

Oliver came out, interrupting his thoughts. Austin turned the grill duties over to Oliver and strolled inside to finish getting dressed. Austin suspected that if he stayed, his number would increase, and he wasn’t sure that was such a good idea.

When he returned to his grandmother’s house, he saw the horses had apparently had their fill of tourists and had made their way back to the pasture by the barn. His reminiscing about Montana made Austin want to take a ride, so he called Red over so he could saddle up.

Behind Austin’s grandmother’s property was a horse trail that ran across the back of the land. He regularly took it to the riding club to teach his class. Austin had never gone the other direction, though, so he turned to explore what lay that way. On his ride, he encountered a few of his neighbors who were Blackwater Riding Club members.

He’d gone a couple of miles when his grandmother called.

“Austin, I need your help.”

“What do you need?” he asked.

“One of my employees didn’t show up for work at the brewery, and they’re swamped. They need help in the back, washing glasses, changing the kegs, and whatever else they ask. It’ll only be for a couple of hours.”

“I’m out riding. Tell them I’ll be there in about twenty minutes.”

“I knew I could count on you,” Grandma Montgomery said before hanging up.

Austin decided to save some time: he would ride Red to the brewery, remove his gear there, and let Red loose in the pasture behind the brewery while he worked.

He rode into a packed parking lot. Austin remembered that there’d been a steeplechase race that day, and it must’ve finished. He caused a stir when the tourists saw him ride Red around back, which confused him because they’d probably all just seen people riding horses.

When he dismounted, several people had wandered back and gathered there. One family had their kids with them.

“Are you a real cowboy?” a boy who looked to be around ten asked.

“Yes, sir. I’m Austin, and this is my horse, Red.”

“What kind of horse is that? He’s gorgeous,” the kids’ mom said.

“He’s a Friesian.”

“I thought he might be, but aren’t they all black?”

“They are, mostly, but a small percentage have chestnut coloring.”

“My neighbor breeds horses for dressage, and I’m sure she would love to see this big guy.”

“If she’s interested, send her over. This is my grandmother’s land, and I stable Red here,” Austin said.

Austin fielded questions about being a cowboy while he unsaddled Red. Once he finished, he turned Red out into the pasture and told everyone he had to get to work.

Austin helped the microbrewery staff get through the rush. Once he’d finished and was ready to leave, he came out of the back to find Simone waiting for him.

“I stopped by the house, and your grandmother told me I’d find you here. I hope that’s okay.”

“It’s fine, but I am a bit confused,” Austin admitted.

“I was wondering if you might want to go for a drive. I’m bored, and Shea has stuff to do with her parents. Steph’s not answering her phone, and Mia is ... uhm ... well ... you know. So I thought I might get you to hang out with me,” Simone said.

“So you’re saying you had to settle for me?” Austin asked with a smirk.

“No! That’s not it at all ... I mean ... yeah, that sounded bad,” Simone admitted.

Knowing that his grandmother was at home told him Max was taken care of, so he decided, why not?