“I’ll be in my office trying to resurrect my computer,” Lincoln said.
That reminded Red. As soon as Lincoln was out of the room, Red pulled his phone out and showed Mercy. “Just need your credit card info.”
Mercy eyed him.
“You don’t have to worry,” Red said acerbically. “I’m not gonna steal the info.”
“It’s not that.” Mercy tucked the blanket around Red. “You’re a very mysterious man, Red. I’m just trying to figure you out.”
“Don’t.” Red lay his head down as Mercy filled out the information on the phone. Red was mildly surprised Mercy knew the credit card information by heart.
“Here you go.” He handed the phone back to Red. “I’ll get you a fresh glass of water.”
Mercy got off the edge of the couch and walked out of the room. Red looked to where Lincoln had walked down the hallway. He clutched the throw blanket tighter around him, burrowing into the soft couch, wondering if maybe it was time for him to move on.
Chapter Four
“It looks like Christmas in here.” With a cup of coffee in hand, Lincoln leaned against the doorframe of his office and watched as Red opened a ton of boxes. “You sure you got enough things?”
“I only ordered what I needed.” Red was sitting on the floor among computer things that Lincoln couldn’t even name. But his mate’s eyes were lit up, and he had a smile on his face. “It might take me the rest of the day to put all this together and get it up and running.”
Lincoln didn’t have a problem with that. With Red in his office, he was assured he couldn’t be injured or pass out in the heat. And today was another scorcher.
Not even Lincoln was working outside. He’d left the horses in the stable with the central air and told the men to make sure they had plenty of water and sunscreen as they worked their various tasks.
“Take your time.” Lincoln looked Red over, and his cock became half-hard. His mate was a beautiful sight. Tall, lean, with a head full of brownish-red hair and the prettiest green eyes.
He thought about those puckered bullet hole scars he’d seen on his mate’s chest, and Lincoln wanted to know the story behind them. Red had been on the ranch for weeks and Lincoln still knew very little about him.
Red looked up at him. “I never asked what happened to Rhinestone. Is he okay?”
“I had the vet come out yesterday while you were resting on the couch. It’s muscle soreness. The vet gave him some supplements for it. Rhinestone is old and doesn’t like to move around a lot. I have Adam taking him for morning walks to help loosen him up.”
Red nodded. “Mornings are the coolest time.”
Lincoln moved a chair that had been in front of his desk close to the door, making sure to keep enough distance between them, and took a seat. “He’s twenty-five years old, and I’m trying to make his remaining days comfortable. He just gets so stubborn sometimes, refusing to go out to the pasture to graze and exercise.”
Mercy walked in with a plate of sandwiches. It was after twelve, and Lincoln was starving. His brother had spoiled him with his schedule of eating, and Lincoln had become used to having his food at a certain time.
“Something to nourish you fellas.” He set the plate on the desk. “I’ll be back with drinks.”
“Thanks.” Red got up and snatched a sandwich from the plate as Mercy walked out. “Your brother is a gem.”
So are you. Lincoln nodded his thanks when Red picked up the plate and handed it to him. “He means everything to me.”
Red sat back down, crossed his legs, and placed his sandwich on his knee. They sat in companionable silence as Lincoln watched his mate work. There was no mistaking the joy on his face, especially when he moved everything to the desk and started typing.
There was peacefulness to him, as if working with computers was what grounded him and brought him happiness. Red was so engrossed in his work that he hadn’t said anything about Lincoln being in the room.
To be honest, it seemed as if Red had forgotten Lincoln was even there. He hadn’t even looked up when Mercy brought their iced teas, hadn’t acknowledged Mercy giving him the glass.
“He’s definitely in his own world,” Mercy commented before he left.
This was the first time since meeting his mate that Lincoln could stare his fill without Red finding a reason to run off. Not that he was being creepy about it. He just liked watching Red work. He had a focus about him that Lincoln hadn’t seen before in his mate.
This was Red’s calling.
His mate finally looked up, and his eyes widened slightly, as if surprised Lincoln was still in the room. “You don’t have to sit there. Trust me, this work is boring.”
Lincoln wasn’t going to be kicked out of his own office. “I don’t mind. Seeing my computer built is kind of interesting.”
That wasn’t wholly true, but watching Red build it was the interesting part.
“Right now I’m just installing your hard drives, operating system, network drive, software, and then I’ll have to do updates. I’m also going to be installing the latest malware program, which I’ve tweaked a little. Unless you surf porn all day long, you shouldn’t have to worry about getting any viruses.”
Lincoln chuckled. “Getting a virus from surfing porn?”
Red grinned. It was genuine and warm and made Lincoln’s heart flutter. “Exactly. So unless you want a nasty virus, stay off the porno sites.”
It seemed Red was most comfortable talking about computers. He seemed relaxed, and his humor was coming out. “What if I do get a virus? You gonna be the one who doctors me this time?”
Red crackled his knuckles. “I’ll wipe it out for you, but just because I can doesn’t mean you should be on sites you’re not old enough to visit.”
That made Lincoln laugh. If Red only knew that Lincoln was one hundred and seventy-five years old. “Those sites aren’t my cup of tea.”
“Good.” Red stuck his nose back into the computer.
Why would Lincoln want to watch others having sex? It would only make him want his mate even more, and since Red wasn’t open to the idea just yet, Lincoln wasn’t going to torture himself.
* * * *
Red finally felt better. Two days after passing out, he woke without feeling as if his skin was too tight for his body. He still wasn’t looking forward to working in the heat. He’d enjoyed the central air yesterday while building Lincoln’s computer. He’d been in the zone, finally feeling alive again.
He’d also enjoyed Lincoln’s quiet company. The guy hadn’t talked his ear off, distracting Red from his work. It had been comfortable, having the cowboy sitting in the room with him.
But in a way, it had been distracting. Red hadn’t had sex in several months, and fuck, he was horny as hell. Having such a gorgeous guy watching him the entire afternoon had made Red thankful he’d been seated behind the desk to hide his boner.
He got up, showered, and skipped breakfast to go check on Rhinestone. Red had become attached to the horse and wanted to make sure he felt better.
It was still dark out as Red made his way from the bunkhouse to the stables. The wide sliding doors were already open on both ends, lending a cool feeling in the breezeway.