Ridden Hard by Jon Keys
Book 4 in the Leather and Grit series
General Release Date: 30th March 2021
Word Count: 52,387
Book Length: NOVEL
Pages: 193
Genres:
CONTEMPORARY
COWBOYS AND WESTERN
EROTIC ROMANCE
GAY
GLBTQI
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Book Description
Seth and Travis are single parents of junior rodeo competitors. Now their lives are changing, and the two men are fighting for their futures and finding love.
Only a few years ago, Travis and Seth began letting their kids compete in the junior rodeo circuit. Seth’s son is working his way through his final season while Travis’ daughter’s interest in her events wanes. No matter what life throws at them, however, their attraction grows, and the two men become closer.
Travis is the latest generation of ranchers, beginning with his great-grandfather who migrated to the area from Mexico. Now years of drought and dwindling cattle markets have him questioning how long he can keep the ranch afloat. Seth is a city boy by rearing but a cowboy by heart, and when he loses his marketing job, he and his daughter move in with Travis and his son to save money. Keeping their relationship platonic seemed to be a good idea years ago, but sharing a bedroom now reveals the men’s need to revisit that arrangement.
Both Travis and Seth are invested in not only seeing their children succeed but also having their own dreams come true. Unfortunately, even the elements are high on the list of hurdles stacking up against them.
Seth sat on the top rail of the arena fencing with Travis leaning close beside him, seeing the competition from a different angle. This was their third rodeo in as many weeks and they were there to support the Junior Rodeo Club. The group was comprised of local kids, including their own, who appreciated any help they could get. The bronc rider who was queuing up was Daniel Donovan, who had as much experience as Zane and Amy. Daniel was a year or two younger than Zane, and even though he rode horses instead of bulls, he’d always helped push Zane by passing along any suggestion he felt would be helpful, and everyone in the club would do the same for each other. They were a competitive bunch but wanted everyone to perform well.
Seth watched in silence as Daniel finished his ride prep, getting the last of his gear in place. He had help from some other contestants, so Seth allowed his attention to drift.
He shifted his gaze from the young cowboy to a man sitting by himself in the bleachers. He nudged Travis then nodded toward the obviously stressed parent. “Kirk still doesn’t handle the pressure of Daniel in competition very well, does he?”
“He may be a tense parent, but he’s hot,” Travis replied.
“I can agree with that assessment for days,” Seth said.
Travis smacked Seth with the back of his hand. “Stop it! All you’re going to do is stir up trouble if you don’t quit that. I’m not sure how well it would go over if half the parents were sleeping with each other.”
Seth bumped Travis. “Lord, the number of them I’d hook up with is real short.”
Travis let out an unrepentant chuckle. “I’ve resisted my male urges so far, but there’s only so long you can keep a good piece of ass away from a determined country boy.”
Seth smirked. “It’s hard to keep a determine city boy away from that butt too. It’s not like everything is dead from the waist down, but I don’t want to cause any straight-boy trouble.” Seth paused for a second, then continued. “But back in my college day, I would’ve tapped that ass before lunch during freshman orientation.”
The comfortable way Travis handled his fantasy interaction with the other parent left Seth with an ache he hadn’t realized was growing, even though he’d played along with the conversation. His attention was pulled back to the competition when, at one point, the horse almost climbed out of the chute. Its body arched until it was U-shaped. Seth glanced over to see how Kirk was handling the spectacle involving his child and found him nearly curled into a fetal position.
The ride was one of those eight-second ones that seemed to go on for an eternity. Kirk’s son Daniel was one of the up-and-comers in the rodeo club. Seth wanted to do all he could to encourage him and his dad. The vignette played out to its conclusion. At the end of his ride, Seth would have rated it…adequate. Then he had to remind himself that part of Zane’s competition style was showboating, and he really couldn’t compare the two.
The crowd broke into a cheer when Daniel landed then waved his hat in the air. One thing about being a bronc rider was that the horse might run over you in its excitement, but a rank bull would intentionally hunt down a cowboy.
“How did he do?” asked Kirk, who’d risen to join them. “The first round went pretty well, I thought. The second one wasn’t as impressive. But what did you think? He’s still working out some details, isn’t he?”
Travis gripped the anxious father by the shoulders, fighting to keep from laughing. “Kirk! Calm down. Daniel did great. He should be in the money today.”
“Is that possible? Coming close is exciting. Just breaking into the top ten would give him such a boost to his ego.”
It wouldn’t hurt Seth’s day if Zane had some success too, but he didn’t say that out loud. “You’ve got a good chance…really a better-than-average chance. Hang in there. There are only a few more riders.”
Travis nodded in agreement. “Daniel did great. He’s starting to hit his stride. You guys will see a lot more wins than losses from here on out. That would be my assessment.”
Kirk responded like a five-year-old with the new all-day sucker. Seth laughed when he started dancing in the middle of the aisle from sheer excitement. But Seth couldn’t help but notice the bubble butt that showed on the backside of his athletic body. Beyond that, he kept any more speculation to himself. Seth had never considered his gaydar to be worth a crap, so he wouldn’t make a prediction. And besides, the man wasn’t Travis. Then he realized Kirk had disappeared, probably running to see what he could do for his son.
Seth glanced at Travis and shook his head. “That man is exhausting. He’s wound tighter than a New Mexico rattler.”
“He isn’t helping Daniel either. But I’d still nail that ass,” Travis said.
Yeah, but I’d rather you nail mine.
The Junior rodeo twisted its way toward conclusion with a win for both Amy and Zane. Seth and Travis glowed with excitement at being among the winners, but for Zane and Amy, part of the fun was the rides and food trucks. The whole club wanted to go, but Seth refused to be responsible for ten or twelve kids whose parents wanted a free babysitter. He and Travis had decided that they’d only be responsible for their own offspring.
Amy had been on the midway the past three nights. She had her list of favorite rides she wanted to hit during the final night. Travis gave their kids the rules, which were simple. “No more than two hours and only the two of you. You can take my truck, and you’re back at the room before midnight.”
Seth nodded. “That’s right. Don’t pimp out the truck for rides or you’ll be grounded for the next six months with nothing but school and rodeo practice.”
Before Seth could add any additional conditions, their kids escaped the motel room and were peeling out as they left the parking lot in Travis’ pickup.
“How new is that truck?” asked Seth.
“New. Really new.”
“I was afraid so.”
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Jon Keys
Jon Keys’ earliest memories revolve around books; with the first ones he can recall reading himself being “The Warlord of Mars” and anything with Tarzan. (The local library wasn’t particularly up to date.) But as puberty set in, he started sneaking his mother’s romance magazines and added the world of romance and erotica to his mix of science fiction, fantasy, Native American, westerns and comic books.
A voracious reader for almost half a century, Jon has only recently begun creating his own flights of fiction for the entertainment of others. Born in the Southwest and now living in the Midwest, Jon has worked as a ranch hand, teacher, computer tech, roughneck, designer, retail clerk, welder, artist, and, yes, pool boy; with interests ranging from kayaking and hunting to painting and cooking, he draws from a wide range of life experiences to create written works that draw the reader in and wrap them in a good story.
You can follow Jon on Twitter and Facebook.
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