Riding Tall (27 page)

Mackenzie ignored that crack. He had something more important to focus on. “Wait. Are you saying you’re against
marriage
, in general?”

“Marriage? No, I’m not against it. It’s not a personal goal or anything, but if people want to get married, that’s cool. If they want to have big weddings, that’s fine too. It’s just not my thing.”

“What if it’s
my
thing? What if I want to get married and have a big wedding?”

“Tell me when and where,” Joe said seriously. “That goes for helping with organizing or whatever too.” He grinned again. “If you decide it’s important to you that you climb Mount Everest naked, you should tell me when and where I need to be to help you with that, too, and I’ll be there. Especially for the naked part.”

Mackenzie stared at him. “Wait. This is… I mean, I did
not
just ask you to marry me. That’s not what happened. But, hypothetically….”

Joe reached past Mackenzie and selected an apple from the fruit bowl on the counter. “Hypothetically, I’d be in, if that’s what you wanted to do.”

“What, like, as a personal favor to me? Not because it’s something
you
actually want.” Mackenzie wasn’t sure if this was worth getting upset about or not.

Joe was clearly choosing the
not
side. “Yup. That’s about right,” he said with a nonchalant shrug. He took a bite of his apple as he waited for Mackenzie’s response, then looked at him a bit more closely, obviously realizing Mackenzie wasn’t completely pleased with the conversation. “I love you,” Joe said slowly. “I want to be with you. I don’t need a piece of paper or a bunch of people staring at me while I say vows to know that. If you want the extra stuff, that’s cool, I can go along. But….” He shrugged. “Yeah. It’d be a personal favor to you. One of many personal favors I’m more than happy to do for you.”

“I can’t decide if that’s incredibly romantic or totally the opposite.”

“The most important questions are the ones that don’t have a simple answer,” Joe said with a mockingly wise nod. He took another bite of his apple, then looked at it appreciatively. “This is really tasty, for this time of year. Want a bite?”

They’d just finished lunch, and Mackenzie didn’t have Joe’s constant appetite, so he didn’t really want a bite, not for its own sake. But he liked the idea of sharing food with Joe. He opened his mouth a little, Joe positioned the apple just right, and Mackenzie took a bite. It
was
really tasty. He closed his eyes and let the tart juice wash over his taste buds, then opened his eyes and saw Joe waiting patiently. “Okay,” he said.

“It’s better than okay,” Joe responded almost heatedly. “That’s not a local apple! It came all the way from New Zealand or somewhere. And it still tastes almost fresh picked!”

“I wasn’t talking about the apple, Joe.” Mackenzie rested his hands on Joe’s lean hips, then ran them around to link at the small of his back. “I meant the wedding stuff.”

“Oh. And what does
okay
mean in that context?”

“It means I’m okay with it. I don’t really want to get married, although a wedding
would
be a lot of fun. But I like hearing that you’d go along if I wanted you to.”

“Don’t forget about the naked Mount Everest offer. I think it’s about time somebody upped the challenge level on that little hike, and maybe you’re the man to do it.”

“Okay,” Mackenzie said again.

It
was
okay. Mackenzie had Joe. That was all he needed to make things good.

Chapter 21

T
HE
NEXT
night was Sunday dinner, and Joe came down from the barn early to get cleaned up and help with the cooking. He needn’t have bothered, though. Well, getting cleaned up was probably a good thing, but there were plenty of workers in the kitchen. Sarah and Dave were there, Sarah organizing the kids into workforces with almost military precision. Dave had retreated to the living room, as he usually did, this time with Mackenzie and Will for company. Nick was the only adult male in the kitchen. He actually seemed like he was being useful for a change, but probably he was just working up to asking Sarah for some favor or another.

Joe didn’t like thinking that way about his brother, and when he came downstairs from his shower, he made himself go into the kitchen and say, “Hey, Nick? Have you got plans for work? Anything on the horizon?”

He’d had good intentions but knew he’d chosen the wrong words when Nick’s relaxed expression twisted into a sneer. “Plans for getting out of the house, you mean?”

“No. I didn’t mean it like that.” Joe was letting himself in for a world of hurt, but he made himself say it anyway. “I was wondering if you wanted to help me with the cattle. Well, with the beef, really. I know I could get better prices if I marketed it differently. Cut out the middleman and find restaurants and gourmet stores directly. Maybe even do some farm-gate stuff—sales directly to individual people. But I don’t have the time to do all that.”

He waited for Nick’s reaction but got none. “I know it’s not as glamorous as owning a bar, but it’d be a lot less risky—hardly any start-up costs. If you want to be independent, you could set up your own company and buy the beef from me wholesale, or if you want a bit more support, you could just work for me.” That was about all Joe had to say, but Nick was still staring at him. Joe shrugged. “It’s an idea. Think about it, if you want.”

“Yeah,” Nick finally said. “I’ll think about it.”

And that was that. Joe had done his duty. He’d made one more attempt to keep Nick from feeling the way Mackenzie had. Maybe neither family had meant to banish their youngest sons, but if the kids didn’t feel welcome, intentions didn’t matter too much. So Joe would keep trying to make Nick feel like part of something and then keep trying to clean up after everything exploded all over.

With so many extra people the table was crowded, but nobody complained. They ate, and they laughed, and when dessert was finished, Will stood up and said he had an announcement to make. “Lindsey and I are expecting a baby, in about five months.”

Sarah didn’t look too surprised, but Joe felt like he’d been hit with a heavy stick. Will was having a baby. With Lindsey. It should have been strange that Will was announcing the event alone, but given Lindsey’s historic disinterest in Sutton family gatherings, it was all too natural. And now she and Will were having a baby together. Will would be connected to this woman for the rest of his life even if they didn’t stay together as a couple. They were going to be parenting a child together. Joe wanted answers, but this wasn’t the time. “Congratulations,” he said, and he tried to remember all the reasons he really meant it. “You’ll be a good dad.”

“I hope so,” Will responded. He looked at Austin. “You ready for a new cousin? A little baby to look after?”

Austin didn’t look too sure. “
I’m
the baby,” he said petulantly.

“Nah,” Joe scoffed. “You’re a big boy now. Big enough to look after a ferret and to help look after a baby.” Not that Lindsey was likely to be enthusiastic about that idea, but Joe would just have to find ways to make it happen. One more challenge. Maybe he’d see if Mackenzie wanted to take this one on.

But dinner was over and Joe had more important things on his mind. Or at least more
immediate
things. “You ready to go?” he asked Mackenzie as the table was being cleared.

“Go? Where?”

“I’m sure I mentioned it,” Joe said. He reached for Mackenzie’s hand and tugged him gently into the mudroom. Sarah nodded as they left, acknowledging the transfer of responsibility. The kids were hers for the night; Joe had plans.

“I don’t think you did,” Mackenzie protested.

“Huh. Well, get your coat on. Boots too. Let’s go.”

“Go where?” Mackenzie asked again, but he did as he was told.

“Well, if you’ve made it this far without knowing, you might as well make it a little farther. I won’t ruin the surprise.”

“You’re annoying.”

“Careful, or I won’t
give
you the surprise, and that’d be even more annoying. Right?”

“So I’m choosing the lesser of two annoyances?”

“Yup.” Joe pulled his own boots on and checked that Mackenzie was properly dressed before pulling the door open and heading for the truck.

“We’re driving somewhere?”

“Did you think the surprise was in the barn?” It was a funny thought. “Here, Mack, enjoy your new calf.”

“I’m not going to talk to you anymore. Not until we get to where the surprise is.”

That was probably an okay idea. Joe didn’t want Mackenzie pissed off before they got to their destination. So he pulled out and headed down the long driveway, turned onto the road, and drove about a minute before his headlights found the reflective markers Will had installed the day before.

“We’re going into the forest?” Mackenzie asked. “Because, you know, a new
bear cub
would be just as absurd as a new calf.”

“Well, there goes my idea for Valentine’s Day.” They drove along the rough road toward the lake. “We need to get a couple loads of gravel for this. It’s on the to-do list,” Joe explained.

“Okay….”

Joe didn’t bother to respond to that, because they’d reached their destination. He pulled around so the headlights lit up the outside of the building and looked at Mackenzie for a reaction.

It wasn’t exactly favorable. More like confused. “The old cabin?” Mackenzie said. “You told me your grandpa bought this property and the house was already on it, but nobody’s lived in it for a long time?”

“And what else did I tell you?” Joe prompted.

“You said you wanted me to climb Mount Everest naked.”

“What did I tell you about this cabin?”

Mackenzie frowned, then tentatively said, “You thought it was something that could be fixed up. You said the structure was still good, and maybe it’d be worth trying to save it.”

“What did I think we could do with it?”

“You said….” Mackenzie turned quickly to stare at him. “You said it could be a honeymoon suite for the people getting married at the church! You said it has its own little lakefront and a good view and it could be really cute! But there’s no
way
you’ve had time to do that!”

“You don’t need time when you’ve got a brother in the contracting business,” Joe said smugly. “Will’s got a couple crews he really likes, and he wants to make sure they’re getting steady work so somebody else doesn’t hire them away. So when he didn’t have a job for them, he’d send them here.” He wished the light in the truck was better so he could see Mackenzie’s expression more clearly. “You want to go see?”

“Are you kidding me?” Mackenzie demanded. “Seriously, you guys fixed this place up? I can refer people here if they want to rent it? Joe, this is….”

“He didn’t actually tell me about it until yesterday. I mean, we talked about it in theory, and I agreed it sounded like a good idea, but I didn’t know he was actually working on it. It’s all him. Come see it. Maybe you’ll think it’s ugly, so you’d better not get too grateful too fast.” Joe pushed his door open and met Mackenzie at the front of the truck. Neither of them had bothered to put his gloves on, so their skin was cool as their fingers entwined.

“We’ll need to get better outdoor lighting,” Joe said thoughtfully. “The place is rewired, so it can handle the demand.” He led the way toward the front door and unlocked it. There was a temptation to sweep Mackenzie up and carry him across the threshold, but Joe resisted. Mackenzie could sometimes be a bit touchy about which stereotypes they perpetuated, and Joe didn’t want to ruin this night with a fight. So he took Mack’s hand and led him inside, then flipped the lights on.

“Oh, Joe!” Mackenzie was clearly torn between pulling his boots off and looking around the room. He ended up not doing a great job of either, and Joe knelt quickly to deal with their footwear. “It’s perfect,” Mack said, stepping into the room as if in a dream. “All the wood, and it feels so open but so cozy!”

“Bed in the loft,” Joe said. “Bathroom and sitting area and kitchenette down here.” He didn’t really need to explain all of that, probably, but it was fun. “And check this out.” He tugged Mackenzie toward the french doors at the far end of the building. “You can’t see it at night, but there’s a really good view of the lake, and we’ll build a little deck down there in the springtime. But until then….” Joe pulled the doors open and nodded toward the subtly lit, steaming pool built into the deck.

“Hot tub!” Mackenzie yelped excitedly. “Joe, I fucking
love
hot tubs.”

“I thought you might,” Joe said with a grin. He didn’t mind them himself, if he was being honest. “You want to get in?”

“Do we have time?” Mackenzie asked wistfully. “How late can Will and Sarah stay?”

“All night,” Joe said. “If you want.” As far as he was concerned, this was the best part about the renovated cabin. “We can rent it out to your wedding customers, for sure. But when it’s not booked, and when we can find someone to babysit….” He spun Mackenzie around and pulled their bodies together. “It can be for us.” He kept his first kiss gentle because he was springing all of this on Mackenzie out of nowhere and needed to give the man time to catch up, but he’d been thinking about this night for a long time, and desire was hot and demanding in his gut. “I miss you,” he said softly. “I want to hear the way your breath catches when you get turned on and the way you moan to tell me I found the right spots. And I want to hear you making all the noise you want to when you come, without worrying about a bunch of kids hearing you.”