Release Tour, Exclusive Excerpt & Giveaway:
One Trick Pony by Eli Easton
Clyde’s Corner, Book 3
Forgiving yourself is the first step toward finding true love.
Henry Atkins is determined to turn around his no-good, sorry life and prove to the residents of Clyde’s Corner that he’s not the town bad boy anymore. If going to church every Sunday with the Ladies Society is what it takes to polish his reputation, he’s all in. But when every secret fantasy in his head walks into the stables at Muddy River Ranch, the straight and narrow path he’s on takes a wild detour. It never felt so good to be so bad.
Micah has been one of the biggest porn stars in the world for five years, but he’s burned out. His body won’t cooperate to film even one more scene. A month’s vacation with his old friend Ben in Clyde’s Corner, Montana is just what his jaded heart needs. He wants rest, fresh air, and to not be recognized by a living soul. He sure as hell isn’t looking for a fling, and he wants nothing to do with Henry, the fanboy who works at Ben’s ranch.
The two men are both seeking a fresh start, an escape from the demons of their past. Fly fishing lessons on the river uncover the surprising number of things they have in common and forms a heartfelt bond that might save their weary souls. Only Micah’s past isn’t through with him yet.
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Micah
Micah texted Ben to say he was close—ironic, that—then got back on the road. Ten minutes later, he drove under a big sign that said MUDDY RIVER RANCH and pulled up in front of a rambling white house. Crap. This place was huge! Even the thought of having to maintain all this land made Micah sweat. He couldn’t even keep a potted cactus alive.
The screen door burst open and Ben Rivers jogged out, a grin lighting up his face. Micah got out of the car as Ben came down the porch steps and Ben hugged him for all he was worth.
Ben looked good—different but good. It’d only been a year since they’d worked together at B2B, but he didn’t look like a porn star anymore, didn’t have that lean, hungry look. Ben’s blond good looks had softened. He’d filled out a little and looked relaxed and kind of glowing. He looked like he didn’t have a care in the world.
“I’m so excited you’re here!” Ben said. “How was the drive?”
“Long,” Micah gave a relieved smile. “Glad it’s over. Thanks again for having me.”
“Are you kiddin’? Joshua says I’ve been prancin’ around like a spring lamb ever since you called. I love company. Come on in.”
A few minutes later, Micah was in a huge family kitchen sitting at a plank wood table with a cup of coffee in front of him. A large window faced a big red barn and fenced area. A cowboy-looking guy in a blue shirt was leading a horse around on a leash, or whatever they called it. Micah distractedly checked out his ass. The jeans were a dark blue, something sturdy and old-fashioned like Wranglers. The stranger’s ass looked great in them. Not too tight but fitted enough to casually showcase the goods. Maybe while Micah was here, he’d have to try a pair of those. They probably sold them at feed stores or whatever. Way retro.
“Micah?”
Micah returned his attention to Ben and Joshua, who were seated on the bench across from him. He took a sip of coffee. God, this whole thing was so… so… flashback. The pine table, gingham curtains, little pig and lamb salt and pepper shakers, the view out the window…. It was like stepping into an episode of Bonanza. “It was nice of you to invite me. Really, really nice.”
“Ain’t no trouble a’tall,” Ben’s boyfriend, Joshua, a rangy dreamboat with thick straight brown hair to his shoulders, drawled with a voice like dark honey. “We’ve got more room in this old house than we know what to do with.”
Joshua’s gaze was cool though. For the first time, Micah wondered if Joshua was really okay with him showing up. Not many guys would want Micah around their boyfriends, especially considering that he and Ben did a half-dozen sex scenes together when Ben had worked for B2B. Of course, that’d only been on camera. Off camera, they’d been friends. Most people didn’t get the difference though. Especially not boyfriends.
“You said you needed to get away?” Ben asked, his face curious.
“I’ve been feeling pretty burnt out, you know?” Micah admitted. He didn’t want to name his shame. Couldn’t get it up. “So Frankie agreed I needed a break.”
Ben made a face. “Well, if Frankie agreed to let his golden goose outta his sight, you musta been feelin’ pretty low.”
Micah changed the subject. “Anyhow, the business has changed a lot, even since you left. The new guys, they want top money and all the perks right away. And we’re doing so many shoots. They’ve about doubled the stable. It’s all business now. And the fans….”
Ben sat forward with interest. “What about the fans? I still get mail sometimes. B2B forwards it.” He looked pleased about that.
Micah used to love the emails too. Thank you for supporting my videos. He’d been so proud. He grimaced. “Most of the email I used to get was nice, you know? You’re so beautiful. I love your cock.” Joshua coughed on a sip of coffee, but Micah kept on. “These days I get a lot of hate mail from religious people and stuff. Death threats.”
“What?” Ben looked shocked.
“I mean, hate mail is always gonna be a thing.” Micah shrugged. “But even the real fans are more demanding—in your next video, you need to do this. Or…” He shook his head.
“Or what?” Ben prompted.
Micah shifted in his chair. “Kinda psycho? I dunno. There’s one guy who’s been emailing me. Calls himself Romeo. He says things like don’t forget we’re having lunch today at such-and-such place. Or I had a great time last night. Did you? or I can’t wait for you to meet my friends. Like he knows me. It’s creepy.”
Ben frowned. “Did you tell the police?”
Micah huffed. “I called ’em. But they said the guy hasn’t done anything yet. And they ended up harassing me. Asking how many men I’d picked up in bars, or how often I meet up with guys who email me. As if I’d ever go out with a fan!”
God, that had pissed him off. He never, ever hooked up in bars. He got paid for that shit. And a fan? That was the last thing he needed. “They even asked if I recruit high school kids for B2B, like online.”
Ben’s jaw dropped open. “Oh, balls.”
“Yeah. Guess I should have expected that. Cops don’t care about us. Not when you’re in porn. Anyway. I’m not sorry to be out of the scene for a bit. To not be me.” He had a whole five weeks off—he’d checked the calendar. And he intended to enjoy every second.
Joshua and Ben shared a look.
“Well, for the next month—” Joshua began.
“—or as long as you’d like to stay,” Ben interrupted.
“Right, or for as long as you’d like to stay,” Joshua agreed, “you’re not Devon here. You’re Micah, Ben’s friend from out of town, and no one’s gotta know any different.”
“You can just forget all of that for a spell.” Ben nodded vigorously. “Remember what it’s like to be an ordinary, boring old Joe, like us.”
Micah laughed. Looking at Ben and Joshua, it was hard to imagine anyone thinking they were just ordinary. But he was sold on the idea.
“Really, guys? That sounds amazing.” It sounded so amazing, it made Micah’s chest ache. “You think no one’ll know me here? For real?”
“Nah.” Ben waved a hand. “There’s hardly a quieter place in the world than Clyde’s Corner. I can’t say much for the nightlife around here, but the food is sure good and so is the scenery. And there’s all the nature you could ever want. Hikin’, bikin’, raftin’, fishin’…”
“Do ya like horses?” Joshua asked.
Micah snuck another glance at the window where the brown horse ran around in the fenced area. The cowboy had vanished. “Um. I don’t know. I’ve never been around one.”
Joshua’s eyebrows went up, and Ben laughed. “Well, you’re in for an adventure! Joshua always says horses are therapeutic, and he’s right. People pay good money to ride our horses. Only I reckon we’ll let you bruise your balls for free.”
Ben’s good humor always had been infectious. Micah smiled. “I’m game for anything—once. Oh, and you can put me to work. I like to stay active. I’m not much of a big thinker.”
“That, we can do,” Joshua drawled. “Always more work around here than dirt, as my dad used to say.”
“Mostly because of the dirt,” Ben added.
“Really, thanks so much. It’s so nice of you to invite me.” Micah’s emotions were so raw, he felt himself choke up. What the hell. He cleared his throat. “I’m happy to pay rent too. Bet this place’d be hot stuff on Airbnb.”
Ben waved a hand. “Not on your life. You’re my guest. Come on. I’ll give you a tour.”
Outside, Ben showed Micah a rope swing on a huge old tree, pointed out black cows that had a broad white stripe around their middle, like no cows Micah had ever seen. They were a rare breed called Belted Galloways. They shipped them all over for breeding stock. Which Micah thought sounded kind of like what he did for a living.
They walked up to the big red barn next.
“This is the stables. Joshua’s passion is horses. And I reckon mine too. We’ve got twenty of ’em now. Joshua is a sort of horse-whisperer, ya know? He rehabilitates horses with behavior issues. And we take in older horses too. Give ’em a home. We do regular trail rides, riding classes, and do a ride-and-dine once a month in the summer. And—”
He swung open the barn—stables—door and they stepped inside.
“—that side of the business is goin’ like a house a’fire. Seein’ as how it’s June, it’s startin’ to get real busy…”
As Ben went on, Micah’s eyes adjusted to the dimmer light inside, and he saw a man. It was the one he’d seen through the kitchen window earlier with the horse. Dark hair. Black, in fact. Tall as Micah, big and broad, light blue shirt, and those dark blue jeans. He was climbing down a ladder from what looked like a hay loft. He turned his head to look at them.
“…Our classes for kids are fun. Sort of Horse Ridin’ 101…” Ben was saying.
The guy on the ladder had blue eyes. A light icy kind of blue. They were easy to see because they bugged out of his head as he stared at Micah. His mouth fell open. His face turned red as a Vegas sunset. Then he just fell right off the ladder, like his arms and legs had stopped working.
Ben cut off his patter. “Uh… Henry?”
The guy—Henry—tried to get to his feet, hands and feet scrabbling, but his boot slipped on hay. He stumbled backward and banged into the wall of the stable. A big decorative iron thing with horseshoes that was hanging up above fell and hit his head.
In slow motion, those blue eyes rolled up until they were all white, and he slumped to the stable floor.
“Henry!” Ben rushed forward.
With Ben helping him, the guy sat up, rubbing his noggin. “Shit fire. I’m all right,” he muttered, face still flaming.
Micah crossed his arms over his chest and sighed. So much for not being recognized in Clyde’s Corner.
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About the Author:
Coming from a background in computer game design, Eli has written over 35 books in m/m romance since 2013. The Mating of Michael (2014) and A Second Harvest (2016) both won The William Neale Award for Best Gay Contemporary Romance, and Eli’s books have won many awards from the Goodreads M/M Romance Group’s Reader’s Choice Awards. She is best known for her Christmas romances, the Howl at the Moon series of rom coms featuring dog shifters, and her Sex in Seattle series, which revolves around a sex clinic in Seattle.
Connect with Eli:
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Twitter: @elieaston
