by RJ Scott
"So he came back."
"And we talked, and I told him everything, even when I wasn't sure I should tell him."
"Why wouldn't you tell him? Why keep Lisa's secret?"
"Why did you not tell Jack or Josh about the baby?" Eden said simply, almost as if that was answer enough.
"That was different," Beth said quickly.
"When you told Jack and Josh, they wanted to kill someone; they had it in their blood. That urge to protect you, kill for you. I knew Riley would do that if he found out Jeff was hurting Lisa, and that it would destroy our family. I wasn't brave enough to do that. I wanted peace, and I wanted to forget."
The girls sat in silence. Steve walked in wearing boxers and a T-shirt, his hair mussed from sleep and his eyes worried. He took one glance at her and Eden and turned back to Beth's room with a simple nod of understanding. Eden looked at Beth's smile.
"You love each other very much," she said almost wistfully.
"Yes, Steve is…" Beth didn't know how to explain, how to put into words what her and Steve were. "The other half of me," she finished, half wincing at the cliché but knowing Eden understood. "He loves our daughter, and that is such a big thing for me, for us, to be the three of us."
* * * *
Riley felt like a voyeur watching his sister and Beth from the doorway, neither knowing he was there. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but he heard his name mentioned and wondered what they were saying. He felt strength inside him, thanked Jack for what he'd done, snapping Riley out of the downward spiral of denial and distress enough to make him see what was happening to his family.
"Hey," he finally said, pushing away from the door and crossing to pour himself coffee. They both glanced up at him, Beth with a smile, Eden looking uncertain, worried. She plainly didn't know what to say to Riley. It was almost as if the ball was in his court, and it was his turn to reassure her that everything was going to be okay.
Riley found it hard to start. He wanted to just say everything that was inside his heart— sorry, and thank you, and everything will work out. He wanted to talk to her about what they should do next. He tried, he really did, opening his mouth to at least say one thing, just one damn thing, but nothing was happening and the atmosphere was turning cold, icy as Beth seemed confused and angry, Eden unsure, and Riley simply unable to talk.
Eden stood, shakily holding onto the back of the chair. "Thank you for the chocolate," she half whispered, but she didn't get far. He hooked her with one hand and gripped her tight into a hug, tucking her head under his chin, his hands locked behind her, his arms around her, holding her.
"Good morning, Missy Eden," he said gently, using the nickname he'd given her as a young child. "Did you manage to sleep some?" She didn't answer, just snuggled closer holding onto him tight.
"Did you?" she finally asked. Riley chuckled.
"Jack made sure of it," he said, then added the proviso that he thought she should hear. "Didn't stop me worrying about you, or Lisa." It was the concern of a brother that was the last straw, and hot tears started to track from her eyes, burning into Riley's skin.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you straight away," she whimpered softly, seemingly unable to stop the flow of tears.
All Riley did was pull her tighter, rocking her gently, supporting her grief. "I love you, Eden. Shhhh, we'll find Lisa, and everything will be okay now. I've got you. It will be alright."
They stood for a long while, Riley carding his hand through her hair, just being strong for her, tears in his own eyes, as if they needed to cry together to wash away the hate and the misery. He felt stronger just having her there in his arms, stronger with Jack looking out for him. Just stronger.
Chapter 50
The helicopter whirled overhead and finally hovered in one position, the noise of it a distant reminder of the paparazzi that stalked them all on a daily basis. The group huddled around the open grave was silent, stoic. Riley stood between his mom and Eden, his arms around both of them, each lost in thought. Lisa and the children were huddled at the head of the open grave, Lisa pale and drawn and the kids crying. He seemed to be listening intently as the minister intoned the eulogy, the words familiar and reassuring. Steve stood with Beth, Jack, and Donna to one side.
Jim kept himself slightly apart, his features carefully blank of anything, his head a million miles away.
He'd known exactly what he should say when he had arrived at the D earlier that morning, knew Riley needed to know the whole truth. He owed it to his son and to the woman he wanted to call daughter. He sat them down, shuffled paperwork, legal documents, letters of intent, medical records, and he knew exactly where to start.
"Your dad is dying," he began, realizing he needed to qualify that statement. "Gerald is dying. He has maybe two more months and is refusing treatment for cancer." Riley had looked up quickly, and Jim knew what Riley's question would be. He'd want to know if that was the reason Gerald had organized the whole Hayes Oil presidency thing, to tidy his house before he died. "No, I didn't know before the night Eden revealed what she'd heard and then, only after I called your father… Gerald, and he told me what the doctors had said."
"Is that why he's taken the blame for the murder?" Eden had asked. "Because he knows he can't be tried for it? Has he turned down the treatment for his cancer because of a need to die?"
"The treatments open to him would prolong his life for maybe an extra few weeks," Jim hurried to say, knowing immediately what Eden was implying. "He has signed a DNR, and the authorities that have him are aware and know there will be no trial. They have a signed confession, and that is enough for them. I think Stafford would like to dig further so we need to remain cautious, but yes, in the main, this is the end of it for all of us."
Jim stood quietly, remembering their conversation, his eyes on Lisa. She was now leaning into Riley for strength, and he willed her not to lose it and blurt something out as she looked over at her father-in-law. Gerald was dressed in a suit and cuffed to guards on either side of him. He'd been allowed out on special leave, but bail had been refused in light of his admission of guilt, and he'd been bound over. Now he was here at Jeff's funeral, a broken man, old before his time, but somehow, now the master of his own fate.
Jim watched as Lisa and Riley approached Gerald. Lisa in tears, Riley white-faced but calm.
Riley nodded. "Dad," he said simply.
"Son," Gerald replied, nodding in return, leaning into the hug that Lisa was giving him and then being pulled back by the guards.
* * * *
It was three weeks to the day after Jeff's funeral that Riley and Eden buried Gerald Hayes in the family tomb, his name to be inscribed next to his son's.
There was only one thing Riley could say, and it was important. He pulled Jack to one side. "Promise me, when I die, that you won't put me in there with them."
Jack just held him close, promising him he wouldn't. "Nah, Het-boy, you'll be with me."
* * * *
Beth rolled onto her back, her head and neck propped up by pillows, her daughter practicing gymnastics in her belly and Steve snoring softly at her side. She had woken up from a graphic dream. Her daughter was telling her goodbye, and Eden was sobbing softly at Jeff's grave. It brought so much pain that it forced her awake to face the midnight hours on her own. She could get up, wander out to the kitchen, and see if anyone was awake, Jack maybe, Riley, Eden, or she could lie here and look at the ceiling for a few hours until she was too tired for her body to remain awake any longer.
Steve made her decision easy, his sleepy voice asking if she was okay and if she needed anything. Ever since she'd passed the seventh month mark, her skin stretched tight across her belly and her back arched to support the weight, he'd worried and fretted and followed her around, intent on missing nothing. She smiled in the dark, her hand finding his and lacing her fingers tightly through them.
"You," she finally whispered into the night that invited secrets and shared desire. "I need you." Steve l
eaned up on one side, focusing on her in the dark, and he traced a line of small kisses from her neck to her lips. He couldn't seem to get enough of her, of the taste of her, touching her, her and the child inside her. They were to be married in three days. That was Steve's idea. He wanted to be married before their daughter appeared. Beth had tried to argue. What if something happened? What if she died? Then Steve would be saddled with a daughter that wasn't his.
That had been one of their only arguments, and it had been harsh and hard. Steve had ended it swiftly. "You're afraid I would leave our daughter if you died? Is that what you think of me?" She had the grace to blush, because yes, it was what she'd thought. She'd assumed Steve wanted only her. Surely he couldn't truly want the daughter that had been created in anger and hate. He made her see she was wrong.
"I love you," he whispered against her skin, moving to kiss her belly, laughing softly as he felt the kick inside, and slipping her tight grip, he used his fingers to touch each freckle that marked the trail to her center. "Three days is too long. I want my ring on your finger now." She arched into his touch as warmth began to pool and spread out through her body, and her breath hitched at his words. He had the power to push her over the edge with just the softest touches, and she curled into his arms, letting him take control, letting herself relax into him.
* * * *
Riley was equally as restless but for different reasons, not least of which was the fact that Jack currently had him pinned to the bed with his lips wrapped tight around his dick and his hands getting creative in matching rhythm.
"Jack." He couldn't voice his needs any more coherently that just random words of begging, despite being at the back of the ranch and away from everyone. He was trying to keep it quiet, and it was so damn difficult. He wanted to demand more, harder, there, more, harder, and Jack damn well knew it, teasing him, pushing him to the edge and then retreating, until Riley was a writhing mess of want. He arched up, pushing harder, and Jack moved back, the fucking tease, actually taking his mouth off and chuckling low in his throat.
"You sure look pretty, needy and begging under me."
"Fucker."
* * * *
"What d'you want, Riley?" He shifted himself and scooted up the bed, encouraging Riley to move with him until they lay side by side, heads on soft pillows, legs twined together, Jack hard against his lover. With his hand closing around Riley, he found a rhythm and finished him off with no more than a few twists and pulls of his clever fingers. He didn't give Riley time to say a word, or even to breathe. He wanted to come when he was kissing Riley, wanted to lose it as he tongue fucked his husband's mouth, his need for touch and taste overwhelming. He didn't know what was pushing this. Even as he felt Riley finally come, arching hard and stiff against him, hot and wet between them, he wanted to taste and rut and feel. He heard Riley's breathing in his ear, harsh, quick, and words of love and thanks, and he lost it, coming so damn hard he saw stars. Riley reached for the towel he'd been wearing after his shower, wiping them and pulling Jack back close to cuddle.
"I know something is on your mind. Talk to me," Riley demanded softly.
Jack groaned inwardly. He was so going to come out of this sounding like some huge girl.
"We didn't arrange to renew our vows," Jack finally said. Great, he'd said it now, it was out there, and yes, he did sound like a girl, all kind of hurt and worried. Riley, for his part, was silent, and Jack lifted his head, expecting to see Riley's wide grin and reassurance in hazel eyes. Instead he saw a face twisted in a frown and closed eyes. "Riley?" he asked. This really wasn't going how he expected it to go. Riley slid out from his grasp, moving to sit on the side of the bed, twisting and pulling at the sheet that pooled around him and then slumping in defeat with a huge sigh. "Riley?"
"We don't have to, you know," Riley finally said, his shoulders stiffening as Jack embraced him from behind.
"What do you mean?" Jack asked softly, even though he knew damn well what Riley meant.
"You can change your mind, you know. We can leave it at the year," Riley finally offered.
"I knew that was in your head, Riley, and I say again, I love you, I want this to go past a year, two years, ten years, twenty, even more if we're lucky."
Riley looked up, a hopeful light in his eyes "So we could do it properly."
"Properly?"
"Us. That’s all we need, the family, and words we mean— maybe out by the paddock with your land laid out in front of us, at dusk?"
Riley sounded so wistful, and it was all Jack could do not to smile a sappy smile in return to his husband's words. He didn't need to say anything else. He hoped Riley could see he wanted this and could see the remainder of his life spread out in front of him with Jack in his life.
"Beth and Steve get married in three days," Riley finally said. "I want to renew our vows sooner."
"Sooner?"
"Tomorrow."
Chapter 51
Beth and Eden sat side by side in front of the mirror, Eden desperately trying to tame her long hair, and Beth trying to cover the bags under her eyes with concealer. Both were chatting and laughing and discovering things about their respective brothers that they knew would make awesome blackmail material at future family parties. It was natural, it was real, and it was a friendship that went way past family. Simply put, it was two women together, at ease, as they discussed being little sisters, Beth being pregnant, being scared and being happy. Steve did try to sit with them. He lasted ten seconds, blanched at the word tampon, and left the room to, in his words, "find some men".
Beth shifted in her chair, the smile slipping from her face momentarily as her back twinged horribly, sending sharp pains up and down her spine and into her legs. To add insult to injury, her daughter decided to join in, kicking her hard and pushing, as if to say "Down here. I'm down here."
"You okay, Beth?" Eden asked, frowning.
The pain in Beth's back had started at breakfast, and Eden had voiced her concerns as to how Beth was not only going to make it through their brothers' vow renewal ceremony but to her own wedding.
"Yeah," Beth finally said. "I phoned the doctor. She wants me in tomorrow, just to check. Says it's probably just the baby turning, sitting on a nerve." Beth smiled softly, resting a hand on her swollen belly. "Only four more weeks, and I get to meet her."
Eden placed a hand over Beth's, squeezing gently. "I can't wait," she said simply, and Beth looked into her friend's expressive eyes, knowing that her daughter's aunt was going to play a huge part in the baby's life. Feeling suddenly and overwhelmingly sentimental, she leaned as much as she could, ignoring the twinges in her back, to pull Eden in for a hug, which Eden returned with a similar affection. They pulled back, both blinking tears. Then just as easily turned back to the mirror and resumed their beauty ritual.
* * * *
Sandra accepted the coffee from Donna, sitting at the scarred kitchen table, her head spinning and her eyes wet from tears. Donna didn't know what to say, but she felt she should maybe say something, anything.
"Thank you, Donna, for taking in Riley and Eden," Sandra finally said. "They needed a home, and the D is a better home than they ever had with me."
"I don't want to hear that, Sandra. You aren't the kind of person who just thanks people for apparently giving your kids a better life than you did. That's bullshit." Sandra's eyes widened, as Donna continued. "You can play the fading southern rose card all you want, but know this, Sandra Hayes. You survived. You had things piled on you that no normal person could have endured, and out of all of that, Riley and Eden are kids you can be proud of."
"But—"
"No buts, Sandra, drink your coffee, swallow the southern genteel crap, and get some backbone. We've got candles to arrange."
* * * *
Jim hovered at the kitchen door, listening to Donna giving Sandra the sound advice the woman he loved needed to hear. He wondered if he could love Sandra any more than he had when he was younger. He wondered if he would eve
r tell her that he still loved her, that whatever happened, however many years had passed, he always would.
* * * *
Dusk was starting to draw the evening in, and the entire ranch was lit with the glow of the setting sun in hues of red and gold. Donna and Sandra had gone all out with the candles, creating a flickering backdrop for Riley and Jack, who stood by the paddock with the people in their life they loved standing around them.
It was Riley who wanted to speak first. The words he had in his head now were very different from those he'd planned the first time they were to renew their vows.
"Despite how this started," he began softly, "I want you to know that over the past few months, ever since you came to the Hayes Oil tower to see me, my heart hasn't really belonged to me anymore. We fought, and I resisted, we loved, and I resisted, but you didn't let me stay away. You opened your heart, your life, and offered your family to me, and I finally accepted." He swallowed, seeing the dusky colors reflected in Jack's eyes and seeing them suspiciously bright. "I promise you that you will never regret the gift you gave me. I swear it, Jack." He reached for Jack's hands, clasping them tight. "On our wedding day, I pledged many things to you and, said words that made little sense to me at the time. But today, the first day of the rest of our lives, here in front of our family, I want to make sure you know how much I love you. I, Riley Nathaniel Campbell-Hayes, love you, Jackson Robert Campbell-Hayes. I promise to love you more each day than I did the day before. "
Sighing deeply, hesitating only momentarily, he continued, "I read something somewhere, and your eyes, your beautiful changeable blue eyes, made me remember it. Someone once wrote this, and I hope I can remember this right. 'The world, for me, and all the world can hold, is circled in your arms; for me there lies, within the lights and shadows of your eyes, the only beauty that is never old'. I will trust you and respect you, laugh with you and cry with you, loving you faithfully through good times and bad, regardless of the seemingly incredible obstacles life puts in front of us. We will face it together. Jack, I love you, and I give you my hand, my heart, and my love. Forever."
