Texas Wedding (13 page)

“I’m not gay, Uncle Jack,” Logan said softly. “Not only gay anyway. I don’t know what I am.”

“It doesn’t matter if you are gay or bi, you know.”

“No, I know. I like girls and boys. I mean, I really like Cory, and maybe…. I don’t know, I….”

“It’s okay, Logan. You don’t have to define who you are at your age.”

Riley had enjoyed both sexes but had defined himself as straight, until Jack landed in his life, of course. He’d spent way more time with women. Jack stopped himself from suggesting that Logan talk to Riley. One thing at a time.

“Love is love,” Jack said instead.

“I know.”

“Let’s try and fix this, right?”

They arrived at a sprawling white house in a street of similar homes. Logan unbuckled himself but didn’t leave the car. Jack took his belt off, but Logan held out a hand to stop him.

“I need to do this myself.”

“Okay, I’ll be here.”

Logan settled his breathing, then, with one final look of despair at Jack, he left the car. Someone answered the door pretty quickly, and Logan went inside. Jack was giving this thirty minutes, then he was going to see what he could do in mediation.

He didn’t need it. The two boys came out of the house, walking together, not laughing or smiling, but walking close, like friends might do.

Logan opened the front door. “Uncle Jack, can Cory stay at the ranch with me this weekend?”

Cory held back. “Logan, I said no.”

“If that’s what Cory wants,” Jack said with as much diplomacy as he could manage.

“I’m okay, Mr. Campbell-Hayes. Maybe another weekend.”

Logan looked at his friend, disappointed. “Cory?”

Cory reached out and squeezed Logan’s hand. “I’ll text you, okay?”

“Promise?”

Cory pulled Logan into a hug, then stepped back and pulled out his cell. He typed something so fast his fingers were a blur on the tiny keys. A chime indicated Logan had received a text.

Logan looked at his screen and grinned. Then he hugged Cory and climbed into the car.

Logan looked at him sideways, and Jack telegraphed a message with a raised eyebrow.
Is everything okay?

Logan nodded, then bit his lower lip. Jack knew what Logan wanted to say.

I hope so.

Only when they were at the end of the street and on their way back toward the D, did Jack ask the one burning question. “What did he text?”

“That he may be gay, but don’t expect him to help me sort out my shitty clothes choices.” At that Logan looked down at his worn jeans and flannel shirt. “Don’t know what he means,” he said.

Jack chuckled and glanced down at the adult version of what Logan wore. “Me neither.”

Logan settled back in his seat. “Thanks, Uncle Jack. Can I ask you something?”

“What?”

“Can I do some paid work with the horses, maybe in the holidays? After I’ve worked off being grounded, that is.”

“Of course, the offer is always open.”

“I want to save up enough to replace Sarah’s bike.”

Jack was proud of his nephew. He wasn’t sure what Josh would make of what Logan had done, or Riley come to think of it, but Jack was determined that Logan would face all his monsters and come out a winner.

It was what uncles did best.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Riley glanced at the screen of his cell. He’d not long left yet another frustrating meeting with the CH investors. Riley was disappointed because they wouldn’t simply sign off on the new field, and he had the headache from hell. He’d stayed up way too late poring over reports for today’s meeting and was paying the price. He half considered not answering the call when he saw it was Lisa. Maybe just ignore his sister-in-law’s call so that he could get out of the building and into his car, but he didn’t. Family always came first.

They exchanged pleasantries in that formal way they’d fallen into recently. Lisa and her fiancé Ed lived in San Antonio; she and the kids had moved there a year earlier. Somehow since then they’d moved apart, and Riley felt like all he did was remind Lisa of a life she’d rather forget.

The point of the call was that she and Ed were in town, and could they visit this evening for an hour or so? With times agreed, they ended the call, and Riley made it to his car. He sank into the cold leather seats and let out a sigh of trapped tension. He knew damn well the investors would back his choices in the end, but they made every step of it so damn hard.

Pulling out of the underground parking, Riley joined the people heading out of the city. The band of pain around his head only lessened when he knew he wasn’t more than ten minutes from the Double D and his family.

Jack wasn’t there when he arrived home, but a text reassured Riley that Jack would be there in time for Lisa and Ed’s fleeting visit. Hayley was studying, the twins were up and causing chaos with toys in the good room that had become more of a playroom, and Max was watching cartoons.

Carol nodded her head toward Max. “Had a bad day today,” she mouthed. “School sent a letter home.”

Riley scooped up the envelope and read the short letter. Very simple and to the point, it explained that Max had fallen at school and that his family should keep an eye out for any changes in Max, warning of dire things like brain damage or broken bones. Riley was instantly on high alert.

Max didn’t feel pain in the same way as other kids did. When Connor or Lexie knocked themselves, they cried and looked for attention. Hayley still sought comfort when she was ill. Max, on the other hand, had fallen off Hatty and quietly stood up and brushed himself down before carrying on like nothing had happened.

Riley took two glasses of water and sat on the floor next to Max, making sure not to get too much into his space. If Max wanted a hug, then he would let Riley know by clambering onto his lap.

“Hey, Max.”

Max nodded, his gaze intent on Tom being chased by Spike in classic
Tom and Jerry
. Riley was happy to sit and watch, stopping Connor from climbing onto Max. Weirdly enough, Max was cool with Connor and Lexie, not fazed by their boisterous baby climbing. The only time he didn’t want to be around them was when either baby was crying; he would cover his ears and start to rock. Riley held tight to Lexie, who curled into his shoulder and played with his hair.

“You hurt yourself today?” Riley asked. Max didn’t get complicated sentences; communication was best kept simple.

Max nodded again, then with great concentration, he paused
Tom and Jerry
. He rolled up his tiny navy sweatpants and exposed a grazed knee, then pointed to his ear. Riley made a show of looking at them carefully.

“Poor Max,” he said.

“Tom falls over,” Max summarized. He pressed Play and went back to watching the bright, colorful action. Connor chose to clamber over Riley at that point, and he deliberately moved away from Max and became what the twins loved best: a human climbing frame. His headache vanished as he relaxed to the point where he was nearly nodding off, awkwardly curled on the floor with Connor piling building blocks on him and Lexie sleeping on his chest. At least from this position he could see the screen for
Tom and Jerry
. What finished him off, though, was when Max crawled over and leaned against his legs, kneading the soft material of his black pants.

Carol poked her head in, smiled, and indicated she’d be in the kitchen.

Riley smiled back; then, slowly but surely, allowed himself to doze.

When he woke, it was to the sight of Jack’s face, laughter sparkling in his blue eyes.
Jack.
He pressed a kiss to Riley’s forehead and extricated a now sleeping Connor from his position half on and half off of Riley’s belly. Connor woke at the movement and squealed at his pappa, waking up Lexie, which meant Riley got a whole lot of pointy elbows and knees as she scrambled off to get a Jack cuddle.

“You okay?” Jack asked softly between tickling and juggling two active babies. Riley uncurled himself but didn’t move his legs because Max was still there watching the screen.

“Enjoying Daddy time.” He smirked and indicated Max.

“Right,” Jack announced. “Dinner!”

He left the family room with the twins and Riley still didn’t move.

“Dinner, buddy?” he asked Max.

Max looked at him, directly at him, then away, before stopping the show, placing the control on the TV stand, and walking out to the kitchen. Riley took longer, stretching himself out, before rolling over onto his stomach to push himself upright. When he reached the kitchen, the scents of lasagna hit him square and his stomach growled. Lasagna was Jack’s specialty because, in his words, “It doesn’t take long and has meat in it.” Of course, his sauces were from bottles, but the end result was good enough for their family to polish off in one sitting. The twins at eighteen months were eating pasta and usually managed to get their dinner into their mouths and not over everything else. Used to be that Robbie would sometimes join them, but that had stopped since he’d gotten with Eli. So this time was family time.

Carol took her place next to Max and set about helping him. Riley sat in his chair and frowned at the remaining empty seat. “Where’s Hayley?”

Jack answered. “Carol says she thinks she has a migraine or something,” he said with a hint of worry in his voice. “I checked in on her, and she said her vision was a bit blurry. She took some painkillers and water, and she’s asleep.”

“Her best friend is off with a bug,” Carol added.

Riley recalled his own headache; he’d put it down to tension, but maybe he was coming down with something.
No time for that.
“I’ll check in on her later.”

“If she’s still ill in the morning, we could get a call in with the doctor.”

Riley agreed. He wasn’t going to mention it to Jack at this moment, but he was concerned about Hayley and thought maybe she was overdoing it. She had an active social life, worked hard at school, and was tired a lot of the time. Riley recalled feeling tired when he was a teenager and remembered headaches, but his were entirely down to stealing Gerald’s liquor—a quiet rebellion until he was old enough to drive and could leave the old house to get his own booze.

The twins were in bed, and Max and Jack were reading books together when Lisa and Ed arrived. Lisa looked really well, no longer the brassy blond alcoholic stuck in a loveless, terrifying marriage, who had chased Riley more often than not. Here was Lisa with her natural hair color, a short light brown style, and she was smiling from ear to ear.

“Finally, the wonderful Ed,” Riley teased as he hugged her. Ed for his part hung back and allowed the reunion, only stepping forward when Riley held out his hand. Ed wasn’t as tall as Riley; he was maybe Jack’s height, with curly, dark red hair and smiling brown eyes.

“It’s really nice to meet you,” Riley said with an earnest focus on his words. “I’ve heard a lot about you from Eden.”

Ed shook Riley’s hand. “And you, from Lisa.”

“We’re going to see her tomorrow,” Lisa interjected. “Eden I mean, for lunch. The kids are expecting us back for dinner tomorrow.”

Riley completed all the usual things, made coffee, put out cookies, and by the time he had finished, Jack was back in the kitchen. A second round of hugs and introductions, then it was the four of them discussing the kids.

“Luke came first in the science fair,” Ed said proudly.

In fact, he hadn’t stopped talking with affection and pride about Luke and Annabelle, and all the while, as he spoke, Lisa stared at him with a smile.

After they had turned down more coffee, because, in Ed’s words, neither of them would sleep tonight, it was finally Lisa’s turn to expand on why they’d come to visit. Not that Riley didn’t want them visiting, but he hadn’t seen Lisa face to face in a long time now, and to have her here was both a blessing and a curse. He loved that she looked so well, but he didn’t like that she was a reminder of things he’d rather forget. Every so often she would look at Riley and they would hold a connection, but it didn’t last very long. In those moments she looked nervous and maybe a little scared.

“We’re married,” she announced.

Riley blinked, glanced at her finger, seeing a wedding band next to her engagement ring. He immediately rounded the table, hugging Lisa and congratulating Ed.

“We wanted it to be quiet, so we took the kids and got married in Vegas.”

Riley watched as Jack congratulated them as well. This was wonderful, exciting news, and having met Ed now, he could see how happy Lisa was. Ed was a very different man to Jeff; Ed was affable and smiling all the time.

“We signed prenups,” Ed reassured.

Riley couldn’t look him in the eye. He was secretly very pleased that Lisa’s money was tied up, even if Ed did come from money somewhere along the line.

An awkward silence fell over the table. Riley glanced at Jack, who was frowning a little. What had Riley missed? He looked at Lisa, whose expression had morphed from happiness back to that wariness.

“Is something wrong?” Riley asked.

Lisa grabbed at Ed’s hand and held it tight. “I told him, Riley. I told him everything.”

She went quiet, clutching Ed’s hand and staring straight at Riley, whose chest tightened. He felt sick.

“Lisa?” he asked.

“About what I did…,” she began.

“…And why,” Ed finished when she didn’t expand.

Riley had no words. This was supposed to have been a secret that went with them to their graves. What if something happened with Ed? What if they weren’t meant to be together? What if he sold the story? Panic added to the concern in his thoughts until he couldn’t think of words to say. Jack placed a hand over his and squeezed him hard.

“You did what you thought was right,” Jack began in a very reasonable tone. “But, I thought we’d agreed you weren’t telling anyone what happened.”

Lisa scooted a little closer to Ed. “I know,” she said in a small voice. Ed released his hold on her hand and instead hugged her close. “I couldn’t keep the lies inside, and I—” She looked at Ed, who smiled reassuringly. “—I had a drink.”

“Shit, Lisa.” Riley knew how devastating that must be. She’d done so well in beating the drink.