The Wild Bunch: Casa

By Deirdre O'Dare

Spark, Stace, and Casa have been best buddies since their high school rodeo days. Now they work for a very special guest ranch that caters to gay men who need a break and escape from their high stress fast lane lives. Rainbow Ranch has a reputation for providing precisely the Wild West adventures each guest needs and desires with the cowboys of their hottest dreams.

Casa is worried when he sees Stace and Spark have found special partners in guests who’ve visited the ranch the past few months. He hates to be the only one left, but he doesn’t think that will work for him. He’s carried a secret torch for his boss way too long to change now. When Jason is hurt in a rodeo accident, Casa is the one who steps in to help and keep things going while Jason recovers. Having dealt life long with prejudice because he is Latino, Casa is afraid to let the other man know. Will matters be taken out of his hands?

Jason has realized his dream of a dude ranch for gays. Will this end when his head wranglers hook up with guests, leaving him alone? But Casa, who has always been his secret favorite, steps in to help when Jason is injured and shows no inclination to hook up with a guest and withdraw. Instead, he makes himself almost indispensible. Does he have a hidden motive?

Unbeknownst to Jason, Stace’s new partner Jared bears a striking resemblance to him, which makes the three cowboys wonder. Is there some connection and maybe bad blood between the two men? In an effort to bring the two face to face, the cowboys engineer a barbeque, unsure whether the result will be terrific or terrible.

• Language: English
• Publisher: JMS Books LLC
• Release date: Jun 6, 2020
• ISBN: 9781646563760

Deirdre O'Dare

Deirdre writes gay romance channeling a prior life’s gay male twin she calls Danny. Fascinated by love’s diverse shades and guises, she explores and experiences a range of attachments. She still believes in happily ever after, that Love is the One True Thing and genuine Love is never wrong. For more information, visit deirdredares.blogspot.com.

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The Wild Bunch: Casa

By Deirdre O’Dare

Published by JMS Books LLC at Smashwords

Visit jms-books.com for more information.

Copyright 2020 Deirdre O’Dare

ISBN 9781646563760

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Cover Design: ByThunder LLC | bythunder.wordpress.com

Image(s) used under a Standard Royalty-Free License.

All rights reserved.

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No portion of this book may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission from the publisher, with the exception of excerpts used for the purposes of review.

This book is for ADULT AUDIENCES ONLY. It may contain sexually explicit scenes and graphic language which might be considered offensive by some readers. Please store your files where they cannot be accessed by minors.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are solely the product of the author’s imagination and/or are used fictitiously, though reference may be made to actual historical events or existing locations. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Published in the United States of America.

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To many Latino friends who’ve passed through my life since childhood. I admire your courage and patience, sympathize with the prejudice and struggles you have endured. Your folk were the first ‘cowboys’ in what has become the American southwest and the ranching parts of Mexico and left an indelible mark on that scene. Without you, our language would be poorer and our history less colorful. Badger Clark, a long ago cowboy poet, said it well: Spanish is a loving tongue…t’was a girl I learned it from, living down Sonora way. Falina in Marty Robbin’s El Paso, the proud tears of the bullring trumpet, the Charro, and so much more is woven through my Celtic psyche and flavors my tales. Thank you and may God bless.

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The Wild Bunch: Casa

By Deirdre O’Dare

Chapter 1

Late spring

Gila, New Mexico

Carlos Casanuevo, Casa to his friends, eased down on the big Brahma’s back. He wrapped the rope around his hand, drawing it as tight as he could. It still wanted to slip. He rosined his glove again and tried a second time. The bull swayed, bobbing its massive head. Casa recognized the big gray had been in the chutes many times before. Old Smokey knew the drill. Other cowboys had told him the bull was usually pretty docile, until the gate swung open. Then, he burst out like a rocket fired for the moon, though not moving in a straight line, but a zigzagging pattern as he bucked and twisted. Not a lot of cowboys managed to stick on him for the required eight seconds. Casa believed he could.

He recalled when he’d done this all season long, at least a couple of times every weekend. That was back when he and his best buddies, Stace Johnson and Spark Diamond, were rodeoing together. They’d decided to quit about six years ago, while they were still more or less in one piece. Riding bulls and broncs was a tough business. They were all good, but they’d recognized they were not world championship good. Since they were really not into the buckle bunnies, the other benefits were not that great. Partying got old, and flying or driving all over the country became real tedious. It was time for a career change.

About the same time, they met a man a few years older, a man with an idea. Jason Longford wanted to open a guest ranch that catered especially to gay men. When he pitched the idea to the three of them and offered them head wrangler positions, they’d jumped at the chance. Five years into that stint, they were still having a good time and loving their work. Besides the usual dude wrangling tasks, they had the job of catering to the special guests. These were high roller types who paid an additional fee for a chance to enjoy not only the outdoor and western adventures, but also some amorous ones with a hunky cowboy. Casa, Stace, and Spark made sure each guest got his money’s worth. For them it was almost a special perk instead of a duty.

Along with other entertainment such as trail rides, big game hunts and scenic photography, the ranch held a rodeo at least once a quarter. They got a good stock contractor to supply the rough stock, and invited locals to come and participate. The event had become a favored tradition in the southwestern corner of New Mexico. Tourists came to watch and local wannabe cowboys to compete. Many guests made a point of scheduling their visits at rodeo time.

The three cowboys always proved they had not lost their touch. If one of them did not win an event, another did, and usually they vied for the all-around-cowboy points each time.

Now satisfied with the feel of his rope, Casa gave a final