Texas Wedding (5 page)

“Hey,” Liam said with added tones of happiness. He didn’t want Darren thinking Liam wasn’t pleased to see him. After all, they worked with each other during the day, so why wouldn’t a friend want to visit another friend after work? Darren was nothing like Hank. Darren was the one who helped Liam get away from Hank when he realized what Hank had been doing.

“Jack asked us to go over. You wanna do it now?”

Liam blinked at Darren. “Jack. Now.”

Darren nodded, then bounded down the steps three at a time, landing solidly at the bottom. “Coming?”

Liam looked back into his quiet space, at the bed in full view, and the order he had inside. Going out meant going into the big house, with the chaos and noise of the kids and Jack and Riley, and food, and—“Okay,” he said.

He shut the door, locked it and joined Darren at the bottom of the steps.

“I don’t know what he wants,” Darren said.

There was an inflection in his tone as if he was asking a question, as if Liam might know why the boss wanted to see them.

Liam shrugged. “I have no idea.”

The walk was short, and they reached the kitchen door without talking. Darren knocked and walked in. That was kind of how it was at the big house. No one worried if you walked into the kitchen; there was always food here if a body wanted a meal or something. Food and talking.

Liam liked food, talking not so much.

Riley looked up from the table. He and Hayley were poring over textbooks with way too many words and not nearly enough photos.

“Everything okay?” Riley asked. He frowned a little and glanced over his shoulder to the hall. “You want Jack?”

As if he’d heard his name, Jack walked into the kitchen. His hair was damp and curled at the ends, and not for the first time, Liam stopped breathing. Something about Jack made him stop and stare; another part made him tense. Stupid, really. Jack had been nothing but good to him, even accompanying him down to Laredo for the trial.

“You wanted to see us?” Darren asked.

Jack nodded. “If you have a few minutes.” He walked past them to the door. “Let’s take this outside.”

Liam’s heart fell, and worst-case scenarios flooded his head. Jack was firing them; Liam would lose his home, and Marcus would see that Liam wasn’t the kind of guy he wanted to be with. Liam would be alone and would have lost not only his job but the man he loved.

Stop it. Just stop it. Marcus loves me.

He pushed back the negative shit in his head, and followed the other two outside. Jack led them to the fence and turned to face them.

“I wanted to run something by you,” Jack began. He stared down at his feet for a long moment, and Liam felt uncomfortable to see Jack not quite able to look at them.

“Is everything okay?” Liam asked softly, his empathy for Jack coming to the fore. He’d do anything for this man, and he hated that Jack looked uncertain here. That was wrong; Jack and Marcus were the solid anchors to Liam’s life.

Jack looked up. “Yeah, sorry. Look, this could either be really difficult or really easy. You remember Kyle Braden?

Liam didn’t have to search his memories to know who that was. Kyle, along with Danny Flynn, and Gabriel Reyes. Those three names carved deep into his heart. “He was in the courts with me,” Liam said.

“Kyle was the dark-haired kid that had to be helped down off the stand, right?” Darren added.

Liam shot the Darren a glance. He hadn’t for one minute thought that anyone else would recall the name; no one else was as involved as he was. Not even the brother of the one who abused them all.

“I’ve been thinking a lot since the case, kinda caught up in my own head about what happens to kids like him.” Jack looked at Liam.

You mean kids like me
, Liam thought. “What about them?” He was this close to asking Jack what the fuck was going on.

“I thought of setting up a place where I could make sense of it all, give kids a place to go. Like a halfway house similar to where Steve works, a sanctuary of sorts.”

“Who the hell do you think you are?” Liam snapped.

“Liam—”

“You think you’re some fucking saint? You think you can solve all the shit in this world with your money?”

“Liam,” Darren warned.

Liam shot a look at Darren. He didn’t seem at all stressed about this, but then why would he be? It wasn’t him who’d been raped and abused and left too scared to run. It wasn’t him listening to Jack Campbell-Hayes suggest he could fix the whole freaking world.

Jack held up a hand. “It’s okay, Darren, I got this. Liam, I have a place on the property that with some work could make a good place to offer….” He trailed away.

“So what are you asking me for? Permission to be the first one you save?” Liam couldn’t help his attitude. Abruptly he had become what he always suspected, another charity case. The first of many, it seemed. He realized he’d clenched his hands as disappointment warred with anger inside him.

“No, fuck no,” Jack said quickly. “I want to ask you how you would feel if you saw Kyle or Danny or Gabriel again? How you would feel being a part of this project?”

Liam looked at Jack carefully, saw the slightly anxious expression. Was this man, this strong, determined man, looking to
Liam
for input here? “Me?”

“And Darren,” Jack added.

“Okay by me,” Darren said. “I want to help as much as I can. I sent money, but two of the checks never got cashed. I hired a PI—”

“Can I have what he found?” Jack interrupted.

“Of course.”

“And can I share your information with my PI as well, and maybe with Steve who runs a local shelter, so I can get his input into this?”

Darren glanced from Jack to Liam. “Yes, let’s get these men found, so… I can make things right.” He appeared to feel like he shouldn’t be standing there. He clapped Liam on the shoulder. “You okay?”

Liam appreciated the question, as embarrassment began to rise inside him. “Yeah,” he muttered.

“Okay, I’m out of here. Let me know what needs doing and when I need to do it.”

He shook hands with Jack, and disappeared off into the gathering gloom. That left Liam and Jack.

“I’m sorry,” Liam murmured.

“I’m sorry I fucked this up,” Jack said.

Liam shook his head. “I’m sorry I’m fucked-up.”

“I think we should both stop apologizing. And, Liam, I promise you, you’re not fucked up. You’re rightfully angry with everything life has dealt you. Do you think you could handle what I’m doing, or what I want to do here?”

Liam nodded. He could see the other three again. He’d never been inclined to keep in contact; he didn’t know any of them, but they shared the fact they’d all been abused by Hank Castille. Hank was gone, rotting in prison, so that left the victims behind.

“Can I be the one who liaises with Steve at the center? I owe him for what he did for me, and if I can work with him, then that would make things right.”

“Of course you can. That would be a help beyond anything I could imagine.”

Liam drew back his shoulders. He could do this. “I had Marcus,” Liam began. “He helped me…
helps
me. I get it that you want to do something for the ones who don’t have anyone else.”

Jack nodded. “In a nutshell. There’s a place on the Double D’s land, needs some work, big time. I don’t see this as quick. I want to invest time and resources.”

“And you want me to what, work on the house?” Liam didn’t have a lot of time left after the ranch time.

“We’d work it out. You could project manage if you like, or suggest ideas, but always be my sounding board? Alongside being liaison to the shelter and Steve.”

“I like working with the horses.” Please don’t take me from the horses.

“It would be alongside what you do. Liam, you’re not only my ranch hand, you’re my friend, or at least I like to think we are. I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you. I can as easily donate money to an existing shelter—”

“But you want one where the people staying here can work with the land, the horses.”
People like me.

“Yes. So what do you think?”

Liam held out his hand, and Jack took it. “I’m in.”

A car rounded the bend before the long road to the house, its headlights sweeping in a wide arc.

“Marcus is home,” Liam said soft and low.

“I think maybe you have a lot to tell him.” Jack stepped back and away. “We’ll talk in a few days.”

“Thank you, Jack,” Liam said with heartfelt sincerity.

“No, Liam. Thank
you
.”

Jack waved at Marcus and walked back indoors, and Liam walked over to where Marcus was pulling in his car.

As soon as Marcus was out, Liam pulled him close and hugged him so tight that the poor guy probably couldn’t breathe.

“What’s wrong?” Marcus asked as he was finally allowed free.

“Jack is setting up a shelter thing for the boys who were hurt by Hank, and maybe more, I don’t know. He asked me to be a part of it.”

Marcus reached out and cradled Liam’s face, then pressed a kiss to his lips. “I’m so proud of you,” he whispered into the kiss. “So damn proud.”

Hand in hand, they went into their apartment, and Marcus proceeded to show Liam
just
how proud he was.

Jack walked back into the kitchen as Hayley was closing her history book. She hurriedly finished her water, refilled the glass, picked up her cell, then kissed Jack and Riley good night.

“How did it go?” Riley asked with a yawn.

It wasn’t that late, but today had been a very long day with Riley out at the office in the city since before seven this morning.

“Well, I think I nearly fucked it up, but Liam’s okay with it, and Darren has information he can give me from a PI he hired.”

“Will it mean your guy can track them down?”

“Darren said he sent checks, but two weren’t cashed. It might be enough to give us something to go on.”

“So you’re going ahead with it?”

“I need to find Kyle and talk to him face to face.”

“You don’t want to start on fixing the buildings?” Riley stood up and stretched tall, walking his fingers on the ceiling, and exposing way too much warm skin. Jack had a quiet argument with his libido that the kids were still up, it was Carol’s night off, and actually, he didn’t need to bend Riley over the kitchen table and make love to him. “Hey,” Riley snapped his fingers in front of Jack’s face. “Where’d you go?”

Jack pressed a hand to his more than eager erection. “You don’t want to know.”

Riley hugged him, then they kissed, and Riley was as hard as Jack. “Later,” Riley said with promise in his eyes. “We’ll lock ourselves in the bathroom again.”

“You know you’re never quiet. Remember last time?”

“You’ll have to keep me quiet,” Riley teased. He was out of reach now, and all Jack wanted to do was to yank his lover back to him. “I signed a petition today,” Riley added from the safety of the other side of the kitchen, over by the cookie jar and coffee.

Jack pulled beer from the fridge and sat at the table as Riley explained.

“Thousands have signed. Marriage equality and all that.”

“Yeah?”

“I sent you the link.”

“It won’t happen.” Jack wasn’t angry at that, or sad, only resigned. No one lived their entire lives in Texas and expected marriage equality.

Riley placed two mugs and the cookie jar on the table between them. “SCOTUS make a decision, Texas won’t have any choice but to agree.”

Jack shook his head. “And there we go: talks of secession all over again, Texas splitting away, and all that shit.”

“What if it does get passed? What if it’s legal here?” Riley sipped at his coffee in between talking and mouthfuls of chocolate chip cookie.

“They’ll recognize our marriage, I guess,” Jack said. That would be good, because then they may be able to follow it through and fight to get both of them on the adoption papers for Max, and get the twins and Hayley connected to both of them instead of just one.

Riley stood up abruptly. “That reminds me,” he said, then disappeared from the kitchen.

When he came back, Jack groaned good-naturedly. Riley had the photo albums out.

“Look,” Riley said. He pushed a folder toward Jack, who opened it curiously, tipping out the contents.

He blinked at what was inside. “Oh my God,” he blurted as he shuffled them around.

“You remember those?” Riley asked.

“You’re asking if I remember the day you blackmailed me into marrying you, and the photos that girl took for us to prove we were in love?”

“Yeah.”

“No, not at all,” Jack deadpanned.

“Look at them, though.” Riley took the photos and placed them in a row, then sat next to Jack. “You looked so pissed,” he commented.

“I wonder why.” Jack bumped shoulders with Riley, letting him know he was only teasing. They may have started this marriage one hell of a weird way, but they were ending it perfectly right. “And look at you. Jesus, you had a stick up your preppy Hayes ass.”

“I did not,” Riley protested.

Jack pointed to an unusually clear photo where they were smiling for the camera with their arms around each other. “See what you’re doing—getting all toppy, holding me still, all ‘this has to be done right.’”

Riley peered closer. “Jeez, yeah, and shit, look at this one.” Riley slid another over.

Jack huffed a laugh. “That has to be one of the photos that never made it to daylight.”

In it, the photographer had caught them scowling at each other.

“Too right,” Riley agreed. He opened the album of their ceremony on Double D land—a simple exchange of vows in front of family—and the difference was remarkable. They were smiling and so in love, it was obvious.

“These are good memories,” Jack murmured. He turned the page to a cameo of him and Riley laughing at something.

“We still had things that were waiting to go wrong, though,” Riley said. He pointed to the background at the family surrounding them. “Secrets and lies and Beth.”

Jack stopped Riley with a shake of his head. “We don’t focus on those things. We always look for the happy.”

Riley smiled at him as if he made all the sense in the world, and Jack felt ten feet tall.