A few days went by and nothing more was heard from the thief and life went on as normal on the ranch. There was a bit of excitement when a fence collapsed which allowed some of the horses out and required all hands to round them up quickly. The guys enjoyed this change from the normal day to day ranch chores and whooped with delight as they galloped off out into the fields to bring some order to the chaos which was happening in the far field.

Silus and Grant were the first to arrive back at the ranch. They dismounted from their horses and patting themselves down as they went, headed straight for the water pump. They were thirsty and to quench their thirst required some hard pumping of the handle which brought the cool water up to the surface. The water overflowed the drinking cup and into the trough which the horses gladly got stuck right into.

Over the next few minutes, everyone turned up, all looking for a cooling drink and lots of playful pushing and shoving took place as they jostled to get access to the water. John suddenly found himself completely immersed in the trough and coughed and spluttered his displeasure at the rest of them who just laughed and pointed at him.

Jonah grabbed hold of John and pulled him out with a grin, but slightly too hard and they tumbled onto the dirt laughing while the rest stood about and aimed kicks at their balls, some of which connected and some which just threw dust into the air.

"Come on you wankers, I'll have you!" said John trying to look menacing but failing miserably. His bright blue eyes failed to hide the enjoyment he was having as they messed around.

The six ranch hands, Silus, Grant, Chris, Joshua, Jonah and John had all worked together for quite a while and were very comfortable with each other, both as work colleagues and also in bed. They shared many sexual encounters between themselves but while none were specifically partnered and they all fucked each other at every opportunity, there were some bonds which were closer than others.

Chris and Jonah were close and would normally stick with each other but as they were all young men, the thought of monogamy had not entered their heads, let alone their vocabulary. They headed back to the bunkhouse grabbing each other's cocks as they went, goading each other about what they were going to do when they got there.

None of it transpired though as upon bursting through the door, they were greeted by the site of a young stranger sitting on the edge of the bed, pulling clothes out from a rucksack and putting them into a trunk at the foot of the spare bed.

He looked to be about 25 they thought and quite handsome with a square chin that looked like he meant business. His blonde hair tousled carelessly across his head, which these days would have been a style created with gels and mousses but this was completely natural, and his brown eyes were large and comforting. He was well built, Chris thought, but slim built and he looked like he had some wiry muscles hidden under his clothes. Chris was most wondering what was hanging between his legs.