Texas Fall (17 page)

The twenty-seventh of
August dawned hot and bright, and the heat showed absolutely no sign of
diminishing. Eden was in Hayley’s bedroom with Beth, and Jack watched as Riley
switched up the ailing air conditioning to get a breeze moving through the
still house. Riley was in his boxers and nothing else and was evidently leaving
putting on any clothes for the wedding until he had to.

“We should get a new A/C,”
Riley grumbled.

Jack walked up behind him
and snaked his arms around from behind, holding tight. Riley fought for a
moment, then relaxed into him. He might be hot, but he’d never turn down Jack’s
embrace.

“Then we’ll get a new A/C,”
Jack replied. “This old system is fucked anyway.” He was nothing but honest,
but A/C was way down on the list of important things he had to deal with.

“Okay, I’ll look into it. After.”

“After what? The wedding?
Thanksgiving? Christmas? I think you actually like the noise of the shaky
spluttering we get in our room.”

“Drowns out your snoring,”
Riley teased. Then he added, “After the wedding, I’ll get someone out here.” He
pulled on a pair of jeans and a loose T.

Jack held him close for a
little while. “How are you feeling?” Riley had been particularly tense this
morning, and Jack saw shadows in his eyes. He didn’t want Riley to get
unfocused again over the kidnapping. He wanted strong-Riley to stay.

“I can’t wait to see
Eden’s dress,” he began, then snorted a laugh. “Fuck, that sounds gay.”

“You want to go get some
beer and assert your manliness?” Jack pressed a kiss to the exposed skin at the
base of Riley’s nape.

Riley chuckled in
response. “We could go to the Rusty Nail and get into a fight.”

Jack tightened his hold
briefly before encouraging Riley to turn to face him and cradling his face.
Then he kissed Riley, pushing up on tiptoes so they were the same height. The
kiss was familiar and hot, and Jack moaned low in his throat when Riley got
with the plan and placed his hands on Jack’s ass, yanking him closer so their
groins aligned as best they could. Jack lost his balance, but Riley held him up,
and just that strength in his husband had the moan turning into a plea for
more.

A cough separated them,
and Jack stayed where he was until he could untuck his shirt and cover his
erection. He’d recognize that cough anywhere, and the last thing he wanted was
his mom getting an eyeful. Thankfully Riley was hidden behind him. That would
teach them to not shut the door.

“Beth asked if maybe you
could get a fan or something for the room? Eden’s melting. Her words, not mine,”
Donna asked from the door.

“I’ll find one,” Riley
said, although he didn’t immediately move.

Jack waited until his mom
had gone and then very deliberately cupped Riley’s hard cock. “Save that for
later. Right?”

Riley groaned his own
special noise of disappointment, but shook it off. “I need to find Sean
anyway.”

Jack waited until Riley had
left before leaning back on the wall and closing his eyes. Riley had this way
of making him needy and wanting, and he really had to get a handle on this
before having to face family and friends waiting outside. Sunset was still a
good four hours away, and he should really be outside helping, but fuck, Riley
was right, it was damn hot.

He caught up with Carol in
the hall. The kids’ rooms and hers were near cold where the new air conditioning
units had been placed, and she looked as cool as a damn cucumber.

“Max asked for you,” she
said.

“Is he okay?” Jack
straightened from the wall. He’d really only just left Max before searching out
Riley, and he’d seemed all right.

“He just has something to
show you,” Carol said with a sparkle in her eyes.

Jack took the stairs two at
a time and felt a pleasant coolness that counteracted the heat. He tracked Max
to the sensory room and blinked to adjust to the low light. Then he made out
Max sitting cross-legged on the floor, and he lowered himself to sit next to
him.

“Whassup, buddy?”

Max looked at him briefly,
then away before pointing at a drawing propped on the beanbag. Jack peered at
the gentle lines of what was recognizably a child’s rendition of a princess
with bright yellow hair. Next to the princess was something with four legs. The
perspective was off, but it was clearly a horse, either that or a huge dog.

“Is this Eden?” Jack asked
in soft tones.

Max nodded, then scrambled
over the bean bags and came back just as quickly with a small plastic engine in
his hand. Jack searched his memory for a name. It wasn’t James or Henry…
something like… Edward.

“They can have that,” Max
said with deliberate wording. He looked earnest and focused for a split second,
but then his gaze slid away and he was staring at the bubbles in the
sensory-light corner.

“Thank you, Max,” Jack
offered. But he knew he wouldn’t get much of a response. When there was chaos
around him, Max retreated to his sensory room. Jack relaxed back against the
bean bag and nudged aside a small scarlet Stetson that Eden had brought with
her this morning. Max had pretty much ignored her other than allowing himself
to be gently cuddled. The brim of it had sticky chocolate finger marks, and
Jack knew Max had played with it. Max snuggled back against Jack, and for a while
they both sat and watched bubbles.

“You want to come down to
the wedding, Max?”

Max rocked a little. “No.”

“You don’t have to, but it
will be fun.”

Max flailed a little, flapping
his hands and biting on his lower lip. Jack backed off immediately, rubbing
small circles into Max’s lower back until Max stopping flapping and rocking.

Then Jack pressed a kiss
to Max’s head, inhaling the sweet scent of chocolate and oranges. “I love you,
Max.”

Max didn’t say anything,
but he pressed back against Jack briefly before scooting away with his trains.

Movement at the edge of
his vision had Jack looking up to see Hayley at the door, and his breath
hitched. She looked so beautiful in her bridesmaid dress. Jack couldn’t make
out the color from here, but it looked like pale peach or pink.

“Pappa, they need us all in
twenty for the photos.”

Jack glanced at Max, but
he seemed unmoved by it all. Could Jack encourage him to go down for photos? He
stood up and opened his mouth to ask, but Hayley beat him to it.

“C’mon, Max, and don’t
forget your red Stetson.”

Jack’s mouth fell open
when Max did exactly that: scooping up his hat and placing it firmly on his
head. Holding hands with Hayley, he left Jack standing where he was. Clearly
Hayley and Max had bonded. Maybe Jack should try that direct approach. Simple
closed statements where there was no room for discussion or stress.

He followed them downstairs
and diverted to his and Riley’s room only to stop dead in the doorway. Riley
was dressed in the dark suit pants and pristine white shirt, staring into their
full-length mirror and fiddling with a pale pink tie. He looked like he wasn’t
concentrating at all, staring at some point in the distance and gripping the
tie like it was going to make a run for it.

Jack pressed a kiss to his
shoulder, which snapped Riley out of his daydream.

“You okay?” Jack asked.

“Just thinkin’,
remembering when Eden used to dress up like a princess. I never played with her,
you know.”

Jack took off his jeans
and laid them on the bed. “Why was that? You’re kinda close in age.”

“Jeff used to laugh at
me.” Riley’s words were simple, but the meaning behind them was intense. Jack
said nothing, just in case Riley wanted to talk more; instead he focused on
getting dressed. “Used to give me all this shit about how Eden was a princess
and how she didn’t need to dress like one to be one, and how stupid it was for
me to think playing was a good thing.”

Jack was confused. “How
old were you?”

“Ten? I don’t know.”

Jack pulled on his white
shirt and buttoned it, considering what to say. This was a delicate situation.
Riley was clearly in an introspective mood and could tip if Jack didn’t say the
right thing. But what was the right thing here? Taking his tie, a slightly
darker shade of pink, to the mirror, he stood next to Riley.

“He was an asshole,” Jack
finally offered.

Riley smiled at his
reflection and concentrated on tying the knot. He frowned as he pulled it
straight. “Why pink?” he muttered.

Jack chuckled as he
finished knotting his own tie. “All princesses like pink.” Finally the two men
stood, ready to go, and Jack inhaled the citrusy scent that he associated with
Riley. His husband was gorgeous, clean shaven with his blond hair gelled just
so and his beautiful hazel eyes clear and focused. Riley still had dreams about
what happened to him, very often they included Jack and the kids, like he
couldn’t save them, but they were few and far between now. Maybe this was Riley
turning the corner.

“Come on, then,” Riley
said with a grin. “Let’s go be princes.”

* * * * *

Riley didn’t know what to
expect. He was wearing a pink tie, Hayley was in a pink dress, and Max was
wearing a pink T-shirt with a picture of Thomas on the front. This was a
serious amount of pale pink. He imagined the kind of dress Eden would wear. It
would be classy, of course, but pink? He stood close to Jack as the
photographer took shot after shot of him and Jack with the kids, alone, with
the family, with Sean. Riley took the opportunity to shake Sean’s hand. He
didn’t issue warnings or anything an older brother might typically do in this
situation, because let’s face it, they’d done that part already.

Sean looked very handsome,
all spit polished, his surfer hair neat and tidy, and the best thing of all? He
looked happy.

When Sean left to take his
place in the gazebo, ready for the ceremony, it was time for Eden to come down.
Riley held his breath, then let it out in one long exhale as she came down the
stairs. She looked beautiful. Her long hair was in some kind of twisted up-do,
and she had a huge smile. Her dress was white, long, slim, simple, and she held
a bouquet of scarlet and pink. Jim stood at the bottom of the stairs, holding
out a hand, and when they turned to face everyone, Riley had to hold back his
emotion.

He smiled so widely that
he wondered if he’d ever be able to stop, and tears pricked his eyes. This was
ridiculous. This was perfect, Eden was happy, yet emotions he couldn’t identify
were flooding him with a need to sit in a corner and rock. Jack held his hand,
gripped it tight, and he was talking, whispering under his breath a whole load
of sentences about Eden and Riley and family, and Riley held tight to the
words, until, in what was probably only seconds but what felt like hours, he
found he could relax.

Eden took Jim’s arm, and
together the small group made their way out for the photos. Riley murmured how
beautiful she looked, and she pressed a kiss to his cheek.

“Thank you,” she said. “Is
Sean okay?”

Riley nodded, but it was
Jack that answered. “He’s so excited he’s gonna pass out.”

Together they moved back
into the house. The giant gazebo, four times the size of the one at New Year’s,
was festooned with scarlet and pink, and not even the sound of a distant
helicopter in the skies above could dent Riley’s sudden uplift in mood.

The ceremony was beautiful.
Sean and Eden looked so damn happy, and Riley knew nothing could spoil this
day. Even the twins and Max were here with Carol next to them, and Max actually
managed to sit through half the ceremony before simply standing up and walking
off. Carol followed, and Riley relaxed. Max was fine. The twins were sleeping
for most of it and woke just in time for more photos, and Hayley?

Hayley worked the little
princess look like she was born to it. In the slim pale pink gown she wore as
bridesmaid, she looked halfway between cute and super cute. She had not long
turned thirteen, and he and Jack had agreed last night, as completely biased
dads, that she would be a heartbreaker in a couple of years.

At that thought, Riley
glanced at Logan, who was with his family, looking very grown-up in his suit. With
Jack and Josh’s dark hair and blue eyes, he would be a heartbreaker in his own
way.

Logan and Hayley? Give it
ten years and who knew what would happen.

“Where do you want this,
boss?” Liam asked from behind the two boxes he was juggling. Jack leaned back
in his chair to see what Liam was asking about, even though he knew it wasn’t
really anything to do with him. The label said Stationery. He was just relieved
he didn’t have to handle any of the admin side anymore. He wanted to be out
there in the fields with the kids and the horses or back with his own horses
and the program that was expanding every month.

“In the back room,” Darren
said from the floor. He was sitting with another pile of welcome packs that
they were distributing to local clubs and schools with kids who might benefit
from time with the horses. Darren had been a godsend. On the day the school
officially opened, with only two hours before they finally got the all clear
from the Department of State Health Services, Darren had been at loose ends and
offered to help out. He had never left. As of yesterday, he was officially the part-time
business manager, fitting in nicely with his fledgling accounting services. He
and Vaughn seemed happy, and it was now Vaughn’s role to manage the project to
get the hands a place to sleep.

Only last weekend Riley
had suggested constructing some kind of office space for CH Consulting, cutting
down on the transit time into the city. Jack’s head was buzzing with all the
ideas, and he liked that Darren was so matter-of-fact about everything.

The clock showed it was
four, which meant Max was home and it was time for Jack’s favorite part of the
day.

“I’m outta here,” he
announced and sketched a good-bye with his hand. Liam glanced at him, and
Darren nodded. Jack went out to the stables, and Max was there, not with Carol
as he’d expected, but with Riley and Hayley.

“Everything okay?”

“Lexie threw a fit, and I
used it as an excuse to shut up shop about an hour back, did some math with
Hayley.”

“Is Lexie okay?”

“She’s fine now, nothing
worse than a sulk. So I told Carol I’d bring Max over and Hayley needed a break.”

Jack hugged Hayley quickly,
then pressed a kiss to Riley’s lips before grasping Max’s hand. Together they
went to the nearest stable, where Hatty waited patiently. Hayley and Max got
Hatty ready while Riley watched them from a stool in a corner. Finally tacked,
Max led Hatty out to the training space, and Jack opened the gate into the
large area. He released his joint hold of Hatty, and Max, without hesitation,
used the steps to mount his pony.” He had taken to sitting in front of Hayley
on some of the bigger ponies here as well and he looked like a natural.

Very confidently he
settled himself and took the reins from Jack.

“No help,” he said firmly.

This was the hardest part.
It used to be that Jack could lead Max around, but their son was very
determined and had taken it on himself to work with Hatty one on one. There was
no fear there, and Jack had caught Max petting Hatty and telling her something
about Thomas. Hatty, to her credit, stood silently and still and even tilted
her head in an approximation of listening. Riley joined Jack at the fence, and
they watched Max confidently work Hatty in loose circles at a slow pace with
Hayley walking next to him.

“He’ll be working up to a
trot soon,” Riley said. He sounded as scared as Jack felt about that idea.
Quickly Jack pushed the thoughts of imminent danger down. Max was wearing a helmet,
and the space was specially surfaced. And Hatty? Well, she was an old pro and
took everything so carefully. There was a connection there between horse and
boy. They were in synch.

“Don’t want to think about
what comes next,” Jack admitted.

Riley nudged his arm.
“Hayley’ll be dating soon.”

“Jesus, Riley.”

“And Lexie will be toddling,
and Connor won’t be far behind.”

“You can stop now.”

“Why? You feeling old?”
Riley teased.

Jack shook his head. He
looked out at Max and past him to the sky and land beyond. They were officially
in fall here, which meant cooler temperatures, and there would even be leaves
turning up on the ridge if they were lucky. Fall made him introspective, made
him think back on the year so far and to contemplate what would happen next.

Riley was right. The twins
would both be up and walking by Christmas, and Hayley had shown them her
pictures of the party dress she wanted, which was at least an inch above the
knee. Add to that Max and the emergence of a stubborn side that was something
new to them all, and suddenly everything was moving just a little too fast.

Riley had nearly died this
year. Jack couldn’t even begin to think about what he would do if he’d lost
Riley. Hatty sidestepped, and her hooves skittered a little on the safety
surface, but Hayley didn’t react, Max concentrated and stayed straight, and Hatty
righted herself immediately. They were a team, and Max didn’t need him at this
moment. Max could fall and hurt himself, but he wouldn’t. He was finding
confidence in his own ability, and that was a good thing.

“Jack?” Riley sounded
concerned, and Jack realized he’d probably looked like an idiot standing there
staring into the distance. He pulled himself back to the here and now.

“I have a shotgun for
Hayley’s boyfriends,” he began, tongue in cheek. “There is a safety surface if
Max falls, we’ve put those things on all the corners in case Lexie bumps
herself when she’s toddling about, and Connor will sleep too much to walk.”

“Seems like you’re all
confident there,” Riley said. He moved to stand behind Jack and hugged him.
Jack loved these moments, when he could lean into Riley and be held.

“I have good backup,” Jack
admitted. “Darren in the office, Robbie, Liam, and Vaughn with the breeding and
training, Carol with the kids…” He deliberately trailed away.

Riley chuckled. “And me?”

“I suppose so,” Jack said.
He was teasing.

“You suppose so?” Riley
offered with mock hurt.

“I was thinking if you
were too long wasting time in Mexico, that I might have to get in another
hand,” Jack teased. That is what they did, that is what they had to do. The
joking didn’t belie the seriousness of what had happened, of how close they’d
gotten to Riley not coming back.

“A whole other hand?”
Riley said in mock shock. “Maybe two?”

Jack shook his head. “Just
the one would do fine.”

“Ass,” Riley said and
poked him in the side. They subsided into silence and watched Max. All the
words bubbled inside Jack, every single thing he needed to say.

“You know what,” he began.
“Without you, I wouldn’t have anything.” He was being brutally honest. If anything,
this last year, from the car accident to the kidnapping to Hayley and Logan,
and Eden and Sean’s wedding, all the things that made his life what it was?
Well, that was Riley.

“Aww, sometimes I think
you really love me.”

Jack leaned back into his
husband’s hold.

“Sometimes?” he said.
“Nah, all the time. Whatever you’re doing.”

“Even that thing with my
tongue?” Riley’s voice was low and right in his ear, and Jack couldn’t help the
desire that flooded him.

He coughed and moved a
little to ease the growing pressure in his pants.

“Hell, Riley, especially
that thing with your tongue.”

THE END