I nodded, reluctantly removing my hat and placing it on the table. I’d packed lots of jeans and T-shirts, but no shorts or flip-flops. I’d grown up wearing jeans and boots all through summer, and it was a tough habit to break.
“For today, you’ll have to take off your boots and go barefoot. Everything is cleaned regularly by the guys on night shift, don’t worry. But be careful not to slip.”
“Okay,” I said, leaning over to take off my boots and socks. I spent a few seconds rolling the sleeves of my blue-checked cotton shirt.
The stable hand entrance opened as a man with shoulder-length blond hair wearing flip-flops, bike shorts, and a long T-shirt came into the room with a flashy grin and abundant energy for so early in the morning. “Hey, Liv, sorry I’m late. I was off-site last night.”
“No problem. We’re just getting started. Brian, meet Jensen. Jensen, Brian.”
Brian didn’t notice the three men standing motionless in the shower area. I hoped I never got so used to the ranch I didn’t even glance at naked men anymore.
“You must be my replacement!” he said, moving forward and offering his hand. “Welcome to the BCR.”
I stuffed the socks I’d removed into my boot and shook Brian’s hand. “Yeah.” I offered a hesitant smile.
Brian glanced at Liv, who shrugged.
“Usually, the stable hands are more excited on their first day. Hard for them to keep their hands off the livestock.” Brian waggled his eyebrows.
“Jensen’s a bit of a wild card,” Liv said. “He didn’t realize the BCR housed human ponyboys for sex play.”
Brian’s face became the picture of confusion. I wanted to turn around and walk out. Instead, I bent to roll up my jeans.
Liv explained. “He thought the BCR was a regular horse ranch.”
Brian stared at Liv, then looked at me. I’d finished with my pant legs and stood awkwardly in my bare feet, rubbing the back of my neck.
“Well, fuck me. That’s a new one.”
“I can do the job,” I stated, schooling my expression into one of good-natured determination. “Just show me how.”
I might look like a hick, but I wanted to surprise my co-workers with the skills I knew I possessed. I mean, I could gentle a horse in about three seconds and make the animal behave for me. Why not a man?
“Okay,” Brian said. “You’ll do.”
“Jensen,” Liv said. “See the whiteboard on the wall?”
I lifted my eyes to where she pointed. “Yep.”
“You want to look up there first thing when you come in here. The trainers let us know how they want each ponyboy to be turned out on a specific day.”
Each of the ponyboy’s names was written at the top of a column. The current date was written underneath, to the left, and beside the date under each ponyboy’s name, were instructions.
Performance gear xcpt bridle was written under all the ponyboy’s names for this date.
Liv and Brian ran through a list of what we’d be doing for the ponyboys this morning. “We always start with a rubdown and wash in the showers. The ponyboys are expected to douche at the bunkhouse first thing in the morning, so they need to be cleaned well before the trainers deal with them. Today they want them fitted with collars, body harnesses, cages and tails. The whole shebang, basically, except for bridles.”
Brian lifted something up to Callum’s mouth. “We always use ball gags in the grooming stables. Open.”
Callum opened his mouth so Brian could place the black ball gag between his teeth. “Good boy,” Brian crooned, fastening the straps behind Callum’s head. He touched Callum’s wrist. “Arms up. Jensen, come over here.”
I moved forward as I watched Callum stretch his arms towards the ceiling. Brian grabbed a pair of cuffs hanging there, which I hadn’t noticed before, and fastened them around the muscular ponyboy’s wrists.
Okay, well, restraints are efficient. And handy.
“The gags help them get into the headspace for the rest of the day.”
Liv walked over to Noah while Brian placed the young man’s gag and fastened Noah’s slim wrists to the ceiling. I watched closely, trying to focus on the technique and not on Noah’s tantalizing form.
