"What are you wearing?" Jack asked. He couldn't keep the horror out of his voice. Riley was distracted by checking e-mails on his cell and didn't immediately answer. "Seriously, Riley. What. The. Fuck?"
"What?" Riley looked up from the screen and blinked at Jack.
"Wearing?" Jack repeated.
Riley looked down at his jeans and boots and then back up at Jack.
"Jeans," Riley said. "You're wearing jeans. What's wrong with my jeans?"
Jack didn't know where to start. Riley's jeans probably cost a rodeo purse but yeah, he was wearing jeans. That wasn't the problem. Jack was indeed wearing jeans. Riley was also wearing a similar belt buckle to Jack. That is where all similarities ended. Jack was wearing a T-shirt and a western-style button-down in varying shades of blue and red. Riley was wearing a thin black T and a jacket.
That was the problem. The damn jacket was white, well, off-white, cream possibly. Hell, Jack didn't know, he wasn't a freaking clotheshorse like Riley was.
"You're wearing white to a rodeo."
Riley cast another look down and then slipped his cell in his pocket and realigned the jacket.
"It's a nice jacket," he defended. "It's Hugo Boss."
"It's white."
"It's off-white—"
"Riley. We're going to a rodeo—"
"A gay rodeo," Riley interrupted and emphasized the word 'gay' with air quotes. "You think the guys there are gonna turn up in range stuff with shit on their sleeves? I want to look good."
Jack held up his hands in defeat. "Have you actually ever been to a rodeo before, het-boy?" If Riley had, then he would know about the dust and dirt and the air ripe with curse words. A fashion show it wasn't.
"You know I haven't," Riley answered.
"Is it an expensive jacket?"
Riley didn't get a chance to answer as Hayley sashayed into the room holding Eden's hand and grinning. She was a miniature Jack, right up to a child's Stetson on her head, and Jack felt some satisfaction that their daughter had actually listened to him. Sean was a few steps behind Eden, and Jack could feel the focus shift immediately in Riley.
"Sean," Riley said carefully.
"Riley." Sean tipped his hat and then stood quietly.
Trouble was brewing between the two men—even a complete stranger could see that. It seemed to Jack that Riley had a point when he said Sean was messing with Eden. Still, Eden was in love and appeared happy.
"Momma's out front," Eden said. She was skilled at breaking up these Riley/Sean face-offs and all too soon they were all outside the ranch house and clambering into cars.
"You sure you're going to be okay?" Jack asked Robbie as he stood to wave everyone off.
"Eli's still sleepin' and I'll be working Daisy and Catty."
"If you wanted to go—"
"No. I don't."
Jack didn't argue. Robbie seemed happy on the Double D and very rarely left, even on his downtime. Still, he and Eli were spending a lot of time together, heads down and talking. Talking was good—it was way more than he and Riley had done when they first met. He guessed murders and fires and pregnancies kind of took the peace out of a new relationship.
"Jack?" Eden called.
With a nod to Robbie he took his seat in the brand-new 4x4 Riley had brought home a few weeks before. His Ferrari had long since gone and Jack didn't want to admit how much he missed that spitting, snarling dream of a car. When Riley nearly broke an axle coming down to the ranch in the dark it had to go. He seemed happy with the new car; top of the line, it did everything, except train the horses. Hell, it even spoke to you—all kinds of shit about the weather and business. Thankfully Riley had dulled the annoying voice to a gentle insistent background noise and instead seemed intent on increasing the discomfort between himself and Sean.
"So how was Afghanistan, Sean?" he said.
Jack sighed inwardly. Even for Riley that was a provocative question.
"Messy," Sean replied quietly. "A lot of good men dying on foreign soil."
"I imagine you've seen a lot," Riley continued. "Why do you need to keep going out there? Why don't you go back to writing books about horses?"
"Riley," Jack warned under his breath. Still his husband continued. Idiot needed a gag. And damn if the thought of that didn't make Jack hard. Jeez, it was like Riley was wired to his dick or something.
"I've seen too much. We all have there."
"So why go then?"
"I'm a journalist at heart, I go where the stories are," Sean replied. Such a simple answer but Riley had to be blind not to hear the tension in Sean's voice.
"Riley, how did it go with your bid?" Eden interrupted.
Thank God for little sisters who decided their big brothers needed cutting off at the source. Of course mentioning CH and its work was exactly the right thing to say. Riley could talk for hours on that subject.
Peace reigned for the journey after that. Especially when Hayley began chatting about her friend at school who had just got a new sister.
"I sometimes wish I could have a sister," Hayley said softly to Eden. Jack only heard because the reporter on the radio had just had a small moment of blissful silence.
"You would?" Eden asked.
Jack wanted to turn in his seat and look directly at his sister-in-law. He didn't. Instead he glanced at Riley who was concentrating on joining the freeway and apparently hadn't heard a thing.
"Sometimes." Hayley's voice was wistful and its effect twisted in his gut.
Jack looked out of his window and caught sight of his face in the wing mirror. He was turning thirty-two next March and the signs of working outside and his age were starting to show on his face. Thirty-two wasn't old but if he and Riley were to think about adding to their small family it probably needed to be soon. Didn't matter how much money Riley had—these things took time.
"You do realize, Ri, your jacket is going to last three minutes," Eden said.
Jack didn't think he had ever laughed as hard as he did when Riley simply huffed his response.
Jack had attended a lot of rodeos in his time; as a horse trainer and breeder it was his job to know people. He recognized quite a few big name stars and wished, not for the first time, that he had actually done his research on gay rodeo before he came out. He wasn't sure what he was expecting, it was a rodeo, it was loud and dirty and sweaty and testosterone to the limits, but it was different somehow. Guys walked holding hands with other guys, women hugged and kissed each other in front of Jack. There were drag queens and rodeo clowns, and Jack loved it all.
There were differences here. Whereas in mainstream rodeo there were traditional roles for men and others for women, in the gay rodeo every event was open to men and women alike. There were also extra events like dressing a goat, but luckily Jack wasn't involved in judging that—he wouldn't know where to start. Nope, he was there for the barrel racing and the finest display of horseflesh he had ever seen.
Riley was long since gone with Hayley in tow, and Eden and Sean had followed their noses and gone for barbecue, which left Jack leaning against the fence and watching the horses. He was due to judge the first rounds in a few minutes.
"Hey, Jack."
Jack turned at the voice and there was a face from the past. The distant past. Well, the past before Riley anyway. Austin Hemmings with the hoover suction mouth and the come-to-bed brown eyes. "What's it been? Five or six years?"
Jack moved back from the fence and shook Austin's hand.
"Has to be at least six."
"You're looking well."
"You are too."
"Heard you got married." And there was Austin, true to form, cutting straight to the point. "Where is the lucky man?"
"Off finding popcorn with our daughter."
"Hell, never took you as one to be domesticated, Campbell." Austin laughed.
Jack opened his mouth to correct his surname but suddenly what he really wanted to do was end this conversation and move on. Endings were never good but Jack had found Austin cheating on him and that was unacceptable. Not that Austin had thought anything was amiss. He was that kind of guy, strolling through his life with not much regard for others. Still a good-looking guy, he had the muscles of a cowboy and a look about him that spelled trouble. To this day Jack wasn't entirely sure what he'd seen in the other guy, especially now that he was with Riley. Riley was tall, Austin short, Riley was… hell, who was Jack kidding? The minute Riley walked into his life there was no man alive who could compare to his husband. Austin was leaning toward him saying something, words very definitely, but Jack wasn't listening. It was as if he had a Riley radar and when his husband's hard body pressed into him from behind Jack relaxed with an audible sigh.
"Riley Campbell-Hayes." Riley introduced himself and reached out around Jack to shake Austin's hand.
"Austin Hemmings."
Riley's hold on Jack momentarily tightened. There weren't any secrets between them now and Riley would remember what Jack had said about the only serious guy before him. "Pleased to meet you. Was just catching up with my man here."
"Uh huh." Riley was deceptively calm in his response.
Jack smirked inwardly. This show of possession was kind of hot. Austin clearly got the hint and took an awkward step back. All his swaggering bravado had dissipated in a few seconds.
"I need to go now. Nice to see you again." He tipped his hat and drawled, "Campbell."
"Campbell-Hayes," Riley corrected him.
Jack couldn't possibly love this man more than he did at that moment. Turning in Riley's hold as best he could, he reached up with both hands and drew Riley to him for a heated kiss. Right there. In the middle of the crowd waiting for the barrel racing. Right there in front of Austin. Catcalls and wolf whistles echoed around them, just another layer of sound in the noise around them.
"Hayley's gone with Eden for barbecue," Riley pulled back and spoke straight into Jack's ear. His voice was low and growly and all about possession. "You want some?"
Eat? Jack was having a hard time keeping himself from pushing Riley into a corner and kissing him till neither could breathe. Eating was not on his list.
"Mr Campbell-Hayes? We're starting now." The official who had come to find him was checking a clipboard with a smirk on his face and staring directly at Jack and Riley. Jack nodded. Now was his time to be a professional. Riley knew and he stepped back to lean against the fence where Jack had stood. Standing next to Riley, arms brushing, Jack didn't know how he made it through the first round of the racing with his dick hard and uncomfortable against his button fly. But somehow he did.
To see the quarter horses in the unique clover leaf pattern course, around the barrels, men and women alike, was to see poetry. Muscles bunching and releasing as the beautiful animals did what they did best. Jack watched and learned and realized this job wasn't going to be easy. Yes the winner was the one with the best time around the course, but he had the job of choosing best horse, best rider, best anything they could put on a list.
* * * *
The restaurant was quiet and they were really the only people buying drinks at the small bar. Riley imagined it would be jumping in a few hours when the rodeo wound down, but for now it was kind of peaceful. Riley leaned against Jack and thought back over the day so far.
He'd never really had the jealousy thing before. Yes, Eli had mentioned how hot Jack was but that was nothing more than a throwaway comment. Seeing that ex, Austin, cozying up to his husband had made Riley want to come out swinging. Only holding and anchoring himself to Jack had kept him from leaping forward and smacking the guy to the floor. And wouldn't that look good in the papers? Not really.
He sighed.
"Who's pissed in your beer?" Jack asked with a smile.
Riley didn't even pretend not to understand what Jack was saying. His husband was on a high and here he was thinking on things long past. He checked that Hayley was still at the table—he didn't want her to hear what he had to say. He and Jack had promised honesty and that was what Jack was going to get.
"I could have hit Austin, you know."
Jack looked amused. "Only if you'd stopped me from getting there first."
"He was leaning into you."
"He was."
"I didn't like it."
"I didn't either."
"Oh." That was really all Riley could say to that one. Evidently Jack had felt the same way and probably hadn't needed him to interfere at all. "You probably didn't need me getting involved. Sorry."
"Hell, Riley. You draping yourself over me was hotter than a hot thing on a hot day." They nudged arms and Riley knew he had a great big sappy grin on his face. He was so far gone on this cowboy it was unreal.
"Just staking my claim, cowboy," he drawled in his best sleepy Texas accent.
Jack smiled and looked at him up then down. "Riley?" he asked. "Where's your jacket?"
"Under a bull," Eden interrupted as she gathered up Hayley's lemonade and hers and Sean's beers.
Jack let out a snort of laughter. "Under a bull?"
"It's a long story," Riley said with a wave of his hand like it wasn't important.
"Idiot here didn't want it getting covered in shit, was holding on to it and it got snagged on the gate. They opened the gate and there went the white—"
"Off-white—"
"—jacket. Under a bull and trampled into the dirt."
Eden and Jack were laughing big time now. Riley tried to act affronted, hell, he loved that jacket. He couldn't last long and soon he too was laughing with his sister and husband.
They made their way to the table in the corner and Sean immediately had his arm around Eden. Despite the laughter over the damn jacket Riley had just enough tension left in him that it transferred instantly to the man who was messing with his sister.
She wanted permanent, she wanted a husband and kids, and they may be engaged but Sean was not what she needed. He was a journalist, a good one, he had books under his belt, yet he still insisted on going off on these research trips. Why was he risking life and limb going to these crazy-ass places he didn't need to go? Putting himself in danger and making Eden worry was not what Riley wanted for his sister. Maybe he should make Sean some kind of offer, a financial incentive to stay in Texas.
Stupid idea. Eden would kill him. Hell, Jack would kill him.
"When do you leave for your next trip?" Jack asked.
"Day after tomorrow."
"How many more visits?"
Riley caught the end of a conversation and pulled himself together to listen. Sean was talking.
"Just this last one and I'm back in Texas full-time." Sean made it all sound so simple. Riley observed Eden gripping tightly to Sean's hand and could see the light dim a little in her eyes. She didn't want him going to wherever the hell it was and put his life in danger any more than Riley did.
"Then we're going to plan the wedding," she said.
"Can I be a flower girl?" Hayley piped up.
Thank God for small children breaking the tension. Riley looked on as his daughter and his sister discussed color choices and flowers. Sean listened with a smile on his face and slowly, very slowly Riley's irritability grew, which was stupid because clearly there was nothing he could do about it. He really needed to stow his big brother concerns. Eden wasn't a child and was plenty old enough to do all her worrying for herself.
"You okay?" Jack asked. He took a deep swallow of his beer after he asked and Riley pulled his gaze away from the way Jack was holding the bottle and the way his throat moved as he swallowed and instead focused on his husband's expression. Familiar blue eyes held concern and Riley kicked himself for being a downer on a day like today.
"I'm fine," he said. Raising his own bottle, he swallowed a mouthful of cold beer and decided to select a safe subject. "Why did you pick the red-colored over the white one for prettiest horse?"
Jack shook his head in mock horror and Riley smiled inwardly. He loved it when Jack got all horsey with him and he listened as Jack explained the differences between breeds and histories. Sean joined in with his own interpretation of the colors of horses and then Eden and when they were all laughing, Riley felt the tension leave him. Everything was going to be okay. Just because the Hayes family history was mired in tragedy and covered in shit didn't mean Eden couldn't be any less happy than Riley was at this very minute.
They left a little after nine and Riley carried their sleeping daughter from the car to the house. Jack unlocked the door and Riley took her straight to her room. There was no point in waking her up to get her to brush her teeth. Instead he simply removed her shoes and took off her jeans then covered her with the lightweight blanket. She mumbled something he couldn't understand and then reached up with sleepy arms. He came closer and went in for the patented Riley/Hayley snuggle. She smelled of the outside and of cotton candy and barbecue. He left her with a gentle kiss, pulled the door closed, and turned to find Jack there waiting. He stood with arms crossed over his broad chest and a look of expectation on his face.
"We need to talk," he said.
Riley felt his heart turn in his chest. Even after two years and knowing Jack loved him as much as he loved Jack, those were words designed to carve fear into another person.
"What did I do?" Riley instantly said.
Jack looked confused and then gestured for them both to move away from Hayley's room and through to the kitchen. Riley noted through the open door as they passed Eli's room that the space was empty and that Eli wasn't asleep in bed.
"I meant about Austin."
"We don't need to talk about him." Riley couldn't have kept the relief from his voice if he'd tried.
"I just want you to know he came and talked to me. Not the other way around," Jack said so firmly that Riley immediately felt he should say something. Only he wasn't really sure what to say. He filled the coffeemaker and pressed the button to start the process. Jack always commented on Riley drinking coffee this late at night, said he wouldn't sleep, but Riley pointed out nothing except sex kept him awake these days.
"I know he did."
"I didn't ask him to touch me, or talk to me, or even freaking smile at me."
"I know." Riley repeated the words. "I didn't think otherwise."
"So we're good."
"Of course we are. Hell, didn't stop me getting jealous." He added the last with a smirk. Jack was pressing him back against the sink in seconds with his strong arms bracketing Riley and holding him in place. Riley shuffled his legs apart a little so they were equal in height and then he waited.
"You don't ever have to be jealous," Jack said.
"I remember you told me all about him. I know what he was like. It was the kind of stunt I would expect a guy who fucked around on you to pull." Riley reached up and carded his hands into Jack's hair. Gripping firmly, he guided Jack's lips to his and they settled into a kiss that was familiar and perfect. The slide of Jack's tongue and the taste of him, the feel of the smooth skin under the longer hair at the back of his husband's neck was so damned right. Riley could kiss and touch and just lose himself in Jack—the other half of him.
The knock on the door was gentle but enough to separate Jack from him and Riley cursed whoever was at the door.
"Sorry, boss," Robbie said. He had pushed open the door and looked a little embarrassed at having broken up the kiss.
"It's fine. Everything okay?"
"Daisy had a fine day. Catty is going through a stubborn stage, but we'll fix that soon enough. I had a message from Eli. He had to go into the city at three for this company that wants the photos. I didn't think you'd want him driving being as he's still unsteady on his feet, so I drove him in and I'm just going to pick him up."
"Do you want one of us to—"
"No. That's fine. I'm leaving now."
"Thank you, Robbie," Jack said simply.
Robbie nodded and pulled the door shut behind him as he left.
"There are some definite sparks there," Riley commented. He turned and watched from the window as Robbie clambered into the ranch 4x4 and drove down the potholed drive. Jack pressed up against him, and Riley just enjoyed the feel of his husband hard and needy and strong behind him.
"Eli knows what he wants," Jack said.
Riley agreed. "Eli always knew his own mind and I think he has his mind set on Robbie."
"And Robbie's coming round to it."
"They're good together. The cowboy and the guy in a suit."
Jack pressed against Riley so that Riley was under no illusion how Jack was feeling at this moment.
"Sound familiar, het-boy?" Jack chuckled.
Riley turned in his hold as best he could. "Just a bit. Now take me to bed, cowboy, and show me who's boss."
Jack's eyes darkened at the words and he quickly drew Riley through the house without another word. Riley had heat building inside that he never grew tired of.
Not with Jack.