The Heart Of Texas

by RJ Scott

  "How much, Riley?" Riley frowned at the question, and shrugged. "How much?" Jack repeated dangerously.

  "Four hundred," Riley finally answered miserably.

  "I'll pay you back," Jack said. "From the sale of Alex, I will pay you back the entire four hundred thousand dollars plus interest." There was determination in his voice and a hard light in his eyes, his face taut with tension.

  "No, it was part of the contract anyway," Riley said quickly. There was no way Jack was paying it back. Jack took a step closer, so close that Riley could smell the horses and the sun-kissed sweaty skin that was so much a part of his husband. He flinched as Jack raised a hand, frowned as Jack gently touched his face, moving fingers to his hair and pressing his hands into the short hair that he said he loved.

  "See, that is the problem, that contract. I pay you back, and then the contract is wiped. It's not like you’ve given any of the other money over yet, and I don't intend to take it."

  "Jack, I—"

  "No, Riley, if we want this to last the year then you have to let me do it my way from the start."

  And that single sentence —"If we want this to last the year"— was where he knew he'd fallen in love with his cowboy rancher, inextricably, totally, forever in love, wanting it way past the year he had intended.

  And standing here now, watching Jack deal with Solo and Alex, seeing the gentle touches he used on the beautiful new life, Riley knew what he wanted.

  He wanted Jack to take control, if only once, or maybe taking it in turns, whatever. He wasn't at all sure of all the terminology, and he wanted to tell Jack that he loved him.

  Jack was happy Alex was nursing okay, moving back to stand next to Riley and stealing some of his coffee, grimacing at the amount of sugar.

  "Thought we could start on the barn today if you're up for it," he suggested, locking the gate and leaving momma and baby in peace.

  "Yeah," Riley agreed, swiping the worn Stetson from the hook, his Stetson, the one Jack had loaned him. Feeling very much the cowboy in jeans, T-shirt and black denim button-down, he followed Jack to the site of the new barn. Josh had been over the day before, and between him and Jack, most of the debris had been cleared away before Riley had returned from a meeting with Eden and Jim and his mom. Today they were moving frames, starting to construct the barn from the ground up, and the heat was warm on their backs.

  They soon stripped off their outer shirts, Riley standing under the blazing sun, sweat sliding off his skin, soaking his white T-shirt, and collecting at the base of his neck. He stretched, reaching his hands to the sky, his skin hot and his mouth dry. He turned to Jack to call a water break, wiping the sweat from his eyes with his discarded shirt, and stopped as he realized Jack was staring.

  "Water," Jack said calmly, turning on his heel and moving swiftly to the horse barn, grabbing the bottle and tipping it over his head before swallowing mouthfuls of the cool liquid. Riley followed, reaching for the container. He began pouring water over his head, allowing it to soak into his hair, then pushed the thick mess of hair back off his face, gulping down the water that felt so damn good. He never saw Jack move, only felt himself being manhandled back inside the barn, far into the shade where no one could see. Riley tripped and stumbled even as Jack tried to steady him, until he found himself flat against wood, his hands scrabbling for purchase.

  Jack didn't stop. Pulling Riley's head down for kisses, he inserted his body between Riley's thighs, forcing Riley to widen his legs. Bringing him down to his level, Jack forced his head back by his wet hair so he could kiss-bite his way down the sweat and water on Riley's skin. Riley was incoherent, his hands still flailing, his dick iron in his jeans before he could think, or not think, as the case may be.

  Jack moved his mouth up to Riley's ear. "Do you have any idea how fucking hot you look in this?" Jack pulled at the white T-shirt, pulling it up to Riley's neck, his clever fingers ghosting over hot skin, pausing to twist at sensitive nipples, chasing the touch with his lips and tongue and teeth. Riley whimpered, finally able to catch hold of the beam above his head, gripping tight as Jack explored his body with groans and touches and desperate need and want. Jack stepped back, his eyes taking in every inch of Riley standing, legs spread, hands gripping the beam, his head thrown back, wanting. He almost whined as Jack had stood away from him, for only seconds, but it was too much.

  "Jack?"

  "Don't move. Okay. Don't move." And with that Jack ran from the barn.

  * * * *

  Only minutes later, Jack came back in, predatory, slow, pulling his T-shirt over his head and standing in front of Riley. Seeing Riley there, like he was tied in place, every muscle pushed to the limit was too tempting, and he had to touch. Caressing, slipping hands over damp skin, he found a small tear at the neck of the T-shirt and ripped it in two to reveal Riley’s, his husband's, broad chest. He settled his lips just above his lover's left nipple and bit hard, causing Riley to yelp in pain, but his lover still didn't move. Jack's hands closed around the button fly on Riley's jeans, pulling at them until he could push an eager hand in to close round Riley's weeping, needy dick. With the other hand, he went into his pocket, pulling out the lube and holding it out for Riley, imagining his husband splitting him apart in the dark of the barn.

  "Jack, no." Riley shook his head, stubbornly holding on to the beams. Jack was puzzled. Had he misread this? He thought that Riley wanted to make love in the barn. "I wanna know… I want you in me," Riley rasped, his voice gruff, his breathing harsh.

  Jack didn't need to be asked again, didn't question his husband's words. He pushed denim down over sharp hips, following the material, passing kisses close to Riley's dick, biting into his thigh, licking the marks he had left. He helped Riley toe off boots and lose his jeans altogether until his husband stood gloriously naked in front of him.

  "Turn 'round," Jack ordered. "Hold the beams, spread your legs." His voice was so broken, yet he felt so determined as Riley twisted to face away from him, Jack again using his denim-clad legs to get Riley to spread his. "Beautiful," he breathed, his fingers in damp blond hair, pushing Riley to reveal his neck, kissing and sucking marks he knew would still be there tomorrow. He worshipped skin, whispered demands, until Riley was writhing under his hands, making his own demands.

  "Please. Make me feel."

  Coating his hand with slick, Jack began to open Riley, torn between being careful and taking his time, and just fucking pushing his whole hand in. Jack kept up a litany of words, "So good— I'm sorry— so fucking hot— I'm sorry— I love you", hearing Riley alternately moan in discomfort and then nearly whine with more. One-handed, he pulled at his own jeans until he had his dick in his hands and had slicked himself up. He pinched the base of his cock as he almost lost it over his husband's tight muscled ass, at just the erotic images in his head. After lining himself up, the first push was tentative until he slipped past the tight ring of muscle. He heard Riley gasp and felt him stiffen, knowing it was hurting him. He made to pull back, but couldn't as Riley pushed against him. Jack was moving in a small way, and then it was too much; he was lost, pulling his lover farther away from the wall, reaching around with slippery fingers to start a counter rhythm as he bottomed out inside Riley and began to thrust.

  He angled to find the sweet spot, tried so hard, only knowing when he found it by the exhaled gasp and whimper of his name in Riley's throat. The rhythm he set was punishing, biting down on Riley's corded neck as orgasm started to build to the explosion point. Under him, Riley was cursing up a storm, demanding harder, wanting more, and Jack twisted his fingers around his lover's dick. He was upping the movement until Riley went rigid under him, and the feeling of heat and wetness on his hand was enough to have him coming hard into his husband. Riley's dark heat was gripping his dick as he pumped into him, only stopping when Riley all but collapsed against the wall. Jack followed him, caging him with his arms to prevent himself from landing on top of him. They stood in the intimate embrace until Jack pulled himself fre
e, and Riley turned in the cage, his pupils blown, his face flushed.

  "Jesus," he said simply.

  "Jack," Jack replied, smirking.

  "Fuck."

  "We did." Jack leaned in to capture Riley's lips in a hard kiss, his body still vibrating with the aftereffects of orgasm. Every single point of his body was alive with Riley. He wanted to say the words, wanted to tell this gorgeous man, his husband, that he loved him. He wasn't sure if Riley was ready to hear that, but not wanting to push, he kept quiet. What would Riley say if he knew that, in his head, Jack saw them growing old together, being together for as long as they could. It was going to be torture, giving Riley up at the end of the contract year; he couldn't even begin to think about it.

  Riley pulled back, resting his forehead on Jack's and curling his hands around his neck. "I love you," he said quietly, so quietly Jack wasn't entirely sure he'd heard right.

  "Riley?" Please say it again if that is what you said.

  "I love you, Jack Campbell-Hayes. I'm sorry if that makes you feel uncomfortable but I needed you to know how I felt and—"

  "I love you," Jack interrupted, his head spinning with the implications of what they'd just admitted to each other.

  Suddenly the year ahead of them became two years, ten years, twenty, life. So suddenly, despite the chaos outside their small world, everything seemed right. Everything seemed perfect.

  Chapter 36

  When Eden heard her Momma call from Jeff's apartment and found her, she slid to her knees in horror at her side and shook her head as Sandra made her promise not to say a word— "Not one word, Eden." Eden helped her to her own rooms, separate from Gerald's, got her painkillers and water, and sat by her on the bed.

  "Did Jeff do this, Momma?" she had asked quietly.

  "No, Eden, it was the monster we created inside him."

  "Mom, you can't say that. Riley and I were brought up the same way, and however dysfunctional that was, well, we turned out okay."

  "Eden, there is evil in him, even I can see that. He was never like you and Riley. He was always his father's boy, never mine."

  "If he's evil, he needs to be stopped, Momma." Eden cradled her mom to her. They had never been close, but that didn't mean she didn't love her. Jeff was not getting away with this.

  * * * *

  Riley sat back in his seat, the final papers in front of him. Eden sat to his left, his mom to the right, each in their own way ready to make the Hayes name mean something with the scratch and scrape of a pen.

  Jim stopped him, just as he reached to sign, placing a hand flat on the papers. Riley looked up startled, blinking at Jim, wondering why he'd stopped him.

  "Riley, you realize what you're doing here?" Jim asked for what Riley assumed was the fiftieth time today.

  "Jim, this is what we want. We wanna drag Hayes Oil up by its ears and make it accountable for its standards, we want you in as interim manager, we want you to organize a management team, and we want Jeff's power cut off at the knees for what he's doing to the company." Riley summarized each step with a tap of the pen on the papers. "Have I covered everything, Eden?"

  "Jim, manager, team, Jeff, knees; I think that covers it," Eden replied.

  "Mom?"

  "I've waited too long, watched too many good people get hurt by Gerald's actions, and now Jeff's actions. I want it done." Riley sketched a look at his mom, still concerned about the bruises on her face that even makeup couldn't cover. He hadn't asked where she got them after she stopped his concern with a harsh "Enough," and Eden had just closed her eyes and shaken her head, saying "Leave it" silently. Riley hated that his mom was hurt, hated that someone had hurt her, hoping to God it wasn't his dad that had done this to her, but not knowing who else to blame. And now, sitting here under the harsh light she looked tired and exhausted, but equally relieved.

  Riley knew that what he was doing was exactly the right thing to do. Quickly he scrawled his signature, Riley Nathaniel Campbell-Hayes, bold and strong on the line next to his printed name on all three copies, and soon after, Eden added hers, and finally Sandra. Riley pushed the papers towards Jim, feeling as if the world had been lifted from his shoulders. He may still have a twenty-two percent stake in Hayes Oil, but from this moment on, he was a name on a piece of paper. The real control had passed to Jim and to a new management team.

  Jim paused. Only his name was needed on the contract, and that was it. He could go into Hayes Oil, guns blazing, and clean house from top to bottom. He stared into Riley's eyes. Then drawing in a deep breath, he added his signature and closed the file, passing everything to the other lawyer who had been employed for this moment only. Sandra stood and left the room, and Eden made to follow her, but Riley stopped her, following instead. He wanted to be there for his mom, wanted her to believe that he was here for her, and he caught her at the turn of the corridor, with a quiet "Momma?"

  She stopped, turning to face her son, tears tracking down soft cheeks, her expression twisted in grief.

  "What's wrong? Do you regret what we just did?" Riley needed to know.

  Wordlessly, she shook her head, her hand to her mouth, taking the single step that meant Riley had her safe in his hold.

  "It's a good thing what we're doing here," she said softly, gripping his shirt and looking up. Riley looked at the bruise on her face, the mark on her neck, the exhaustion in her face, and he needed to know.

  "Who did this to you, Momma?" He traced the bruise and half closed his eyes as she winced at the touch. "Was it Da— Gerald?"

  Sandra shook her head. "No, he wouldn't go this far. Riley. I'm scared."

  "Scared of who, Momma? Who did this?"

  "Your brother." Riley stepped away from her, his head reeling. Jeff had done this?

  "Mom?"

  "He isn't well, Riley. We need to get him help."

  "Isn't well? I've put up with his shit all my life, but to hurt you… I'll kill him if I get my hands on him."

  * * * *

  Riley left the office, climbing into the Hayes limo and giving instructions to cross the city to the tower. Jim was sitting next to him, his face blank, and his thoughts obviously elsewhere.

  "You okay?" Riley asked carefully. He needed Jim to be strong today, to present a joined front.

  Jim looked at him, blinking. "Yeah, just… your mom." Riley didn't push any further. He could see something still existed between Jim and his mom, but knew the time wasn't right yet. He didn't want to pry. He wasn't even capable of imagining the headspace Jim was in at the moment.

  They arrived, and no one questioned Riley and Jim and the team of five people following them as they passed through the security and on to the bank of elevators.

  No one questioned them as they appropriated Jeff's office in his absence, and shut down IT systems to be covered by new systems when they rebooted. The IT specialist was rewriting code and reallocating passwords in as many seconds as it took for Riley to back out of the office and hide in the supply room, close to hyperventilating.

  The elevator sounded, and Riley peered through the frosted glass of the room's door, inhaling as he saw Jeff pass reception. He stepped out. Jeff looked at him oddly, which wasn't new, to be honest.

  "Hiding in the stationery room, little brother? Is Campbell in there?" He didn't wait for a reply, just carried on to his office, stopping on the threshold.

  Riley heard talking, shouting, and closed the distance to stand behind Jeff. He felt anger radiating off his older sibling.

  "As of today, Jeff, the consortium controls just short of fifty percent of Hayes Oil." Jim was adamant and firm.

  "What the fuck. You can't have enough shares to control. What about my family?"

  "It's true, Jeff," Riley said softly, handing Jeff the contract copy. "We need to ask you to leave the premises until we get the management team in place and up and running, then we'll sort out what your position will be here." Riley tried to word it diplomatically, seeing his brother's brown eyes glaze and harden in shock. Kee
ping himself focused on the fact that his brother had hit their mom, he kept his heart closed to any kind of pity.

  "What the fuck? This is our company, Riley." His lips tight and his voice strained, Jeff sounded like he was going to burst a blood vessel.

  "It's bigger than just us," Riley replied patiently, moving to one side as two men from security flanked Jeff. Jeff shrugged off their touches.

  "I'll take these papers to my lawyers."

  "You do that, Hayes. I can assure you that all the legal documentation is in order," Jim said simply, and then turned his back on the eldest Hayes son, effectively ignoring any response Jeff might give.

  "Just go," Riley said encouragingly. "We'll talk later."

  Jeff was finally escorted, swearing and threatening, to the lobby by the guards he had formerly employed.

  Chapter 37

  Jack was restlessly waiting for Riley to return from the tower, only half understanding the conflicting emotions that must be running through his husband. He wanted to help Riley, but he needed Riley to explain how he should be helping. As soon as Riley's SUV came to a halt, Jack was pulling him out of it, past the paddock and to the back to Solo's old barn, back to where he'd had Riley naked and spread for him, holding on to the beam, begging Jack to make him feel. Jack didn't want that now, not at this moment. He didn't need lust, or fire, or fucking— he needed to touch, to remember the good in amongst all the bad.

  They didn't say anything, not even as Jack pushed Riley back into the corner, back into the shadows, and started to pull at clothing, uncoordinated and clumsy. Riley stopped Jack's fingers, pulled his own shirt off, his own T-shirt, his own boots, jeans, and boxers, finally standing naked and hard in front of his husband. Jack shook himself out of staring, realizing he was doing nothing productive but watching as each muscle moved, as each inch of golden skin was exposed to his gaze. Slowly he stripped off his clothes, finally standing as naked as Riley, his hands reaching to touch. Riley stopped him, grasping at his hands and bowing his head.