Chase the Stars (Lang Downs 2 ) by Ariel Tachna Read Free Book Online

that they’re gay. The conversation wasn’t mean. They’d have made the same kind of comments about a man and his wife if she had him pussy-whipped.”
“And that’s a rare and precious thing,” Jesse said. “The line’s died down so I’m going to get some food. It was good talking to you.”
Chris watched the other jackaroo walk across the room, admiring the way his jeans stretched over his arse, before turning his attention back to the plate in front of him. He’d known Caine and Macklin were special, but the conversation with Jesse drove home just how special this place was. Chris hadn’t asked how people found out about Caine and Macklin or how they first reacted, but he could see how they reacted now. Neil had been perfectly clear that afternoon, and Jesse agreed with the assessment. Chris was safe here.
The end of the conversation made Chris wonder a little if Jesse was gay too. It would explain some of his cryptic comments, but even here, where Chris didn’t worry about being bashed again because of his sexuality, he didn’t want to make assumptions about other people’s preferences. Jesse didn’t strike Chris as gay, but then neither did Macklin, so maybe Chris wasn’t as good a judge as he thought he was. He certainly wouldn’t have believed Macklin was gay if anyone other than Macklin himself had told him.
With a sigh, he finished his dinner and headed slowly back to his room. He needed to sleep if he was going to help Kami in the morning.
    W HEN Jesse finished eating, he wandered outside and stared up at the night sky. The stars always seemed brighter when he was on a station. Intellectually he knew it was because of the decrease in light and air pollution, but that never took away from the magic of the stars spread out above him in all their magnificence. They seemed even brighter than usual tonight. He told himself it was his imagination, but he couldn’t shake the feeling of rightness.
    After ten years of wandering from station to station looking for a place to fit in, he’d finally found one he thought might be a good fit. He’d heard some of the other jackaroos talking in town when he’d arrived to try his hand at New South Wales after having worked farther north. Word had gotten around that the grazier at Lang Downs was gay, not that most of the jackaroos used that kind a word for it. He’d noticed a group of men not joining in, and he’d asked them about it.
    “We can’t argue with them about the boss being gay,” one of them replied. “It just doesn’t make a difference to anyone who actually knows him.”
“Why don’t you say something?” Jesse asked.
    “They won’t care what we say, and Caine wouldn’t appreciate us getting in a fight over him,” another man replied. “Let them say what they want. It’s less competition for us when the Lang Downs crew gets here.”
“You really don’t mind working for him?”
    “He’s a fair boss, he runs a good station, and he treats everyone well,” the first man said. “What’s to mind? He’s not trying to sleep with us.”
    That didn’t tell Jesse who the boss was sleeping with, but he figured it wasn’t any of his business. It was enough to hear the jackaroos say it wasn’t an issue. When the time came to sign on with a crew, he hadn’t hesitated to approach the men from Lang Downs even if he’d kept his reasons for doing so to himself.
    Then Neil had surprised him with the announcement of Caine’s partner that afternoon. Jesse had met Macklin, of course, as the foreman grilled him on his experiences and references with Caine sitting right beside him, a united front for sure but without any undertones Jesse could detect. As he stood there staring at the stars, though, he saw Macklin making his rounds for the night. He nodded to Jesse as he walked by and up the path to the station house. He let himself inside with complete ease, closing the door behind him. The light in the living room went out a few minutes