Easton [Belt Buckle Ranch 4] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) by Olivia Black Page A

contained iced tea. “I really like it here. All my friends are close by and we spend a lot of time laughing.”
    “I’m happy to hear that, grandma. Sometimes I worry about you and wonder if I made the right decision by leaving the farm.”
    “Of course you made the right decision. Besides.” She placed a glass in front of him and filled it with iced tea. “It was my choice, remember? I kicked you out.”
    Easton chuckled lightly, relaxing into the seat. Hearing that she was happy made everything worth it.
    “I don’t want you to worry about me for another minute.” She sat down in the chair next to him and gently patted his cast. “I want to know what happened to you…your poor nose and arm. How are you doing?”
    Taking a deep breath, Easton looked into his grandma’s sweet eyes and knew without a shadow of a doubt that he wanted to tell her everything. He needed to open up and talk to someone about his thoughts and feelings. Keeping everything buried internally wasn’t doing him any good.
    “I met someone when I arrived at the ranch. We had a really strong connection and our relationship started to grow into something serious. At least.” He paused for a moment and she nodded, encouraging him to continue. “I thought we might have a relationship, but I was wrong.”
    “I’m sorry, honey.”
    “I was driving back to the ranch and I was really upset. I lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a tree. It was my own fault. I should’ve pulled over until I was calm enough to drive.”
    “Did you try to tell him how you felt?” she asked, and Easton’s mouth dropped open in surprise.
    “Him?” Easton asked, trying to figure out if he’d given himself away.
    She smiled tenderly and shook her head. “Yes, him.”
    “You know?” He breathed out, unable to believe what he was hearing.
    “Of course I know.” She rolled her eyes heavenward as if he was asking a silly question.
    “And it doesn’t bother you?”
    “Why would it bother me? I love you, Easton. I’ve only ever wanted you to be happy. Of course, I would be incredibly grateful if there could be a wedding. I want to see my baby walk down the aisle and live happily ever after.”
    Her words brought tears to his eyes. To know that she accepted him was a gift he never expected. “I tried to tell him how I felt. His name is Trent. He owns the ranch next to ours. I wanted him to know that I was falling in love with him, but he rejected me. He told me that he didn’t want a relationship.” He exhaled on a sigh.
    “Well,” she harrumphed, crossing her arms over her chest. “He can just go straight to H-E-double-L. He doesn’t deserve my sweet boy.”
    Easton’s mouth dropped open as laughter bubbled up. Once he started laughing, he couldn’t stop, and it made him feel a million times better. Just being able to sit and talk with his grandmother changed his entire outlook and forced him to believe that everything would be okay. Coming for a visit was a really good idea and Easton needed to remember to thank Jackson for encouraging him to leave the ranch.
     
    * * * *
     
    Trent sat at the bar inside Marilyn’s, sipping a beer as Jacob served other patrons. He stared at the clock above the bar as the minutes slowly ticked by and peeled off the label on the bottle, waiting for his friend to take a break so that they could chat. After almost thirty minutes, Jacob strolled over.
    “Let’s sit in the corner booth.” Jacob tilted his head toward the corner and Trent abandoned his beer on the bar, following the man.
    Once they were seated in a corner booth, Trent started feeling a little uneasy. He wanted his friend’s advice, but in order for that to happen, he needed to tell Jacob everything. So far, it seemed that nobody knew about what had happened between him and Easton.
    After a few moments of silence, Jacob asked, “What’s on your mind?”
    “Easton.” Even as he said the young man’s name, his heart ached. He hadn’t said