Within moments, they have to make their first big, serious, grown-up decision together. What should be their first priority—unpacking all their stuff or trying out their new double bed?This free short story was first published in Kim Dare’s newsletter in February 2011. It follows on from Time to Do, which was first published in July 2009 by www.totalebound.com. If you haven’t read Time to Do, you may find some elements of this story difficult to follow. It takes place a few months after the original story ended. The inspiration image was chosen by Christine Allen-Riley.

    Arriving at Horsfall Ranch to conduct an audit on their safety program, Oliver can’t keep his eyes off owner Bayard Stoddard. A long cool drink of water if he’s ever seen one. Just when it seems Bayard might be returning his attraction -- as unprofessional as it might be right now -- the tall, powerful man receives the news his twin, Marshall, is missing.Imagine Oliver’s surprise when the abused Shire horse he finds chained up on a neighboring ranch shapeshifts into a man that looks surprisingly familiar… it seems he’s found Bayard’s missing twin.

    He follows the minor league riders from town to town, and he know their scores, their stats, and the brand of jeans they wear. Which is why he's so excited to meet one of the Morrell brothers at an autograph signing one day after an event.Chris and Cody Morrell are young, up and coming bullriders, brothers, and once in a great while, rivals at the game of love. They both like Farley, both go for him, so what're a pair of hot headed cowboys to do?Share of course. But Chris and Cody have a secret of their own, one they're not sure Farley can handle. Will they be able to work it out so all three of them can be happy?

    Micah wants answers. Able has his own letter to show Micah. Together they set out to find who killed Micah's mother and why. Their first clue leads them to an attorney and the police. Micah and Able fall in love while going back and forth from the ranch to the city, from one crisis to another. The characters at the ranch keep things hopping with their own lives filled with comedy, tragedy, and love. They get their answer, but it comes hard.

    Once Bud's on the mend, Trace plans to leave the Triple T Ranch again. He's certain his gruff father will never accept his...lifestyle. Triple T foreman Nash Stokes thinks Farley Gulch is the ideal place for a man to live a simple life-and keep his sexual preference a secret. A hot roll in the hay with his boss's gorgeous son is the last thing he expected. Before long, scorching passion and small-town rumor find both men taking a hard ride home.

    Guilt for walking away unscathed...and for secretly loving Simon's partner, Wade. Unable to bear the pain, Dylan left the Lazy G ranch to rebuild his life elsewhere.A year later he reluctantly responds to his sister's plea to come home, where he finds the Lazy G falling apart. And so is Wade. Wade has stopped caring about the ranch, about everything that should matter most to him.Though there's more ranch work than one man can possibly handle, Dylan throws himself into the task. Wondering how he's going to find the strength to pull Wade out of the fog of grief when his own is still as raw as a fresh wound. Wondering when Wade will finally see that his second chance for happiness is standing right in front of him.

    New band member Hell showed him love and pleasure like he’d never known it. Now, Brent's late and Hell's pissed. Hell loves fireworks and he was looking forward to watching the Fourth of July fireworks show with his lover from the balcony of their new lakeside home. Brent screwed up and now he's got to make it up to his little firecracker in the best way he knows how.Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: m/m sexual contact.

    After being released by yet another Dom, he takes the advice of his trainer and leaves Chicago to accept the invitation of a Montana rancher—a real, live, modern-day cowboy. With his new Master, Wade Mallory, Josh may just find what he's looking for... and more.

    What he finds is desperation, desperation that leads him straight to the Whispering Pines Ranch and right into the path of its strong, arrogant, gorgeous owner, who awakens something in Lorcan he didn’t even know, existed.Quinn Taylor is up to his neck in grief and frustration dealing with a neighboring rancher who wants nothing more than to see him go belly-up. He doesn’t need more complications, but from the moment he lays eyes on Lorcan, his world turns upside down. Despite finding in Quinn what his heart craves, Lorcan refuses to be Quinn’s dirty little secret—and Quinn isn’t the only one vying for Lorcan’s attention. Ranch hand Jess will happily declare his love for Lorcan to the world, something Quinn won’t offer—something Lorcan needs above all else.

    Along with his traveling partner, Andy Baxter, he's riding hard on the circuit, working around the country with all of the other bull riders and bull fighters, living the good life. The only thing he wishes he had is Bax, but he's afraid to take the step that would make them more than friends, worried that it will ruin everything. When a terrible accident leaves Jason unable to see, his whole life goes south. Jason decides to chuck it all, determined to go home and hide at his momma's ranch. Bax has other ideas. He wants to make sure his best friend doesn't give up, and he hatches a plan that stuns Jason and makes their friends and family think he's crazy. With the help of the other bull riders and a very persistent bull fighter named Coke, Bax convinces Jason to give life one more try. With Jason cautiously learning to hope, and his relationship with Bax going to the next level, life gets pretty complicated. Everyone gets in on the project, from Jason's strong-willed mother to an entire ranch full of children, all of them working to help Jason do what he loves. Will Bax be able to convince Jason that he can still ride, even if he's blind to everything the world has to offer?

    Hound travels across country, to California and part of the way back, trying desperately to figure what he needs to make the pain go away.What he finds is small town Utah, and a man named Del, who convinces him that he can start over. The changes in his life amaze him, and even as he takes back his given name of Kevin he finds himself falling for Del. Has Kevin finally found the man he wants, the one he can have for all time?

    This edition offered for free by the authors. It can be downloaded at Archive of Our Own here:Accidentally in LoveWhen fun-loving, social butterfly Calvin Reece moves in with the cute but shy Tom Holden, he doesn't expect anything to come of it but friendship. In fact, his plan is to give Tom a makeover and find him a boyfriend, because Tom's such a nice guy it's just not right that he's alone. As Cal gets to know Tom better, he learns that under the ill-fitting clothes there's a gorgeous body and a kind, generous heart, and Cal starts to feel something new...What do they have in common? Only that they've never been in love. But that may all be about to change.

     Until I met the one boy who changed all that. When we were kids, Xavier Price understood horses, but somehow, he got me too. He’d made me feel like I wasn’t just the overdressed, too sensitive fifteen-year-old geek who loved math and didn’t always say the right thing. But all that changed the night he threw my trust back in my face and betrayed my family in the worst kind of way. And while I’m back in Eden to make sure my uncle’s horse ranch is operating in the black, the one thing I know I won’t have to deal with is the man who’d been on the verge of stealing my heart ten years ago. Because Xavier Price is still in prison for what he did and even if he weren’t, he wouldn’t be foolish enough to show his face in Eden ever again. Right? Xavier Wrong. That’s what returning to Eden after ten years behind bars feels like. But it wasn’t like I had a whole lot of choices. And it wasn’t like I was going to be handed any decent job offers, let alone my dream one of working with horses. But that’s exactly what happened and now that I’m foreman of Black Hills Ranch, I’m not letting this job go for anything. Not even the spoiled little rich kid I’d thought was different when he’d glommed onto me ten years ago. I have no doubt Brooks Cunningham didn’t wait long to move on to bigger and better things the second my jail cell was locked behind me, and that’s just fine by me. I’d been wrong about the sweet, emotional boy who’d had a habit of wearing his heart on his sleeve anyway. Except fate has decided to have another go at me by tossing Brooks right back into my sometimes too small world. Gone is the scrawny, stars-in-his-eyes nerd who used to do math problems just for fun. In his place is a gorgeous specimen of a man who thinks he can go toe to toe with me and once again destroy everything I’ve worked for. Not happening.

    They’d always been friends, though never close. When Charlie is left alone after the death of his family, however, Noah is the only friend that sticks around after Charlie practically becomes a hermit.Determined to get through to Charlie, Noah invents a fake identity on the computer to talk with him. And while Charlie still keeps Noah at arm's length, he opens up to his new computer buddy.Finally, Noah's dream comes true when his friendship with Charlie changes to include sex, but each time they are together, Charlie pulls away afterward. Every time Noah tries to get through to him, Charlie grows even more distant. Then Charlie tells Noah's disguised internet persona that he doesn't have a boyfriend, merely a neighbor with whom he has sex.Crushed, and in order to protect himself from further heartache, Noah begins to live a life separate from Charlie. But Charlie realizes soon enough that he misses Noah in his life, that he must get past his grief and go after the man he has come to love.But is it already too late?NOTE: Don’t miss the sequel, Pulling Apart.

    First he gets his dream horse from a rival trainer. Then his brother’s Army Ranger buddy, Dane Keller, comes to work on the ranch and Josh meets his dream lover too. Dane is hot, competent, and fresh out of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Everything would be perfect—except nobody knows Josh and Dane are gay.All Dane wants is a quiet life in a less claustrophobic closet and a ranch job where he can earn a living. But when his best friend’s little brother, the one who wrote the letters that kept their spirits up in Afghanistan, turns out to have grown up in all the right ways, Dane can’t help wanting more despite his fear of commitment.While Dane and Josh are busy trying—and failing—to keep their hands to themselves, someone else is watching, biding his time. Then he strikes, first at Josh and then at the prized horse. When all of their secrets and fears are exposed, Dane is determined to protect Josh, even if it means leaving him behind.