Read Online Letting Hearts Heal by Luna Jensen - Free Book Online Page B

right?” Wyatt fidgeted nervously, as if it were a much more serious matter than dinner.
    “Of course.” Mason braved a smile although it was the last thing he felt like doing. He’d probably jump off a tall building if Wyatt asked. Mason hoped he wouldn’t ask. And before cooking, he needed to calm himself down. “How about we go say hello to the horses?”
    “Yay. I like the horsies.”
    Mason smiled. “Me too. Did you know that this ranch used to be filled with horses?”
    Wyatt’s eyes widened. “Really?”
    “Yep. Your grandpa had lots and lots of horses.”
    “Why did they go away?”
    Mason winced. How to get himself out of that one? “Your daddy likes having all kinds of animals better. And growing vegetables. It’s nice to have your own peas in the polytunnel, right?”
    Wyatt nodded seriously. “And there are still horsies.”
    “That’s right.” Dean was a genius that way.
     
     
    D EAN WAS aware that he probably shouldn’t be driving when he was so preoccupied. After a sleepless night, he’d managed to get through breakfast by letting the vibrancy of Wyatt and Mason’s company push away the dark thoughts. Alone in his car on the road to a meeting two hours away from the ranch, however, he was trapped with them.
    The meeting would normally just have been a phone call, but he needed the time alone to think. Dean was expanding the business and hiring two new drivers to cover the new territory. He’d met them both when they came to the ranch for a tour and instructions. These last minute details didn’t have to be handled in person. And many times during the long drive he regretted going. There was such a thing as too much time to think, and he quickly realized that he wasn’t going to get any revelations about his relationship with his father. Dean would never know what might have happened if he’d told his dad that he was gay and that he was turning the horse ranch into something else. He’d just have to accept that the old man probably wouldn’t have liked it, just like he’d have to accept that his own father had ruined his relationship with Mason. It more than stung.
    Dean hit his closed fist against the steering wheel and cursed. So much for the rosy red dream that he might have made his father proud.
    The meeting took five minutes. Dean had to lie to his new guys about having other stuff to take care of out that way or he’d have looked like an idiot driving so far for practically nothing. It was enough that he felt like an idiot, he didn’t have to look like one.
    On the way back he tried to think of something else—like Thanksgiving coming up. He’d have to cook turkey for the first time. He wasn’t much of a cook, but lately he’d been trying harder, for Wyatt’s sake. Sure, the kid would be happy as a lark if he got a bowl of peas for every meal. But Dean knew he was a crappy enough dad as it was. He might as well try to feed his son to the best of his ability. Wyatt also needed new clothes. The stuff he’d come with was already getting a bit too short and tight. It was amazing how fast kids grew.
    And then there was Mason. Dean didn’t know what Mason needed, but he wished he could give him something that would put the carefree smile from their teenage years back on his face. A new shirt and a pair of pants probably wouldn’t fix that problem.
    When Dean came home, he drove past the ranch house and down the narrow dirt road to Joe’s small house. The road was plowed just wide enough for the truck to get through.
    Joe’s shy and timid wife, Anna, was on the porch. Dean had never really gotten to know her, even though she’d lived on the ranch for more than thirty years. She hurried inside when she saw Dean’s truck. She was a funny one, but Dean had always respected her privacy. He rarely went to their house and usually just called Joe to meet him somewhere else.
    Joe came out as Dean parked next to the rust bucket that Joe insisted was the best and most reliable