Page 46 of Homicide in Water Creek

Jacks sat next to him on the old pine couch as the two men faced off in the chairs. “I’ve handed the case off to Unita County,” King explained, focused on his granddaddy. “We found the crime scene there last night, so it falls under their jurisdiction.”

“You can’t just hand our family business over to strangers!” his granddaddy exploded.

“I don’t have a choice. It’s their jurisdiction,” he explained, keeping his voice steady. “I’ll be working with them, but it’s their case now. Everyone wants a piece of it. She was Vonita King. Whoever solves her murder will have a feather in their cap for the rest of their career.”

“It should be you,” Keene insisted.

King shook his head with a sigh. “I don’t want it. I don’t need it. I’m not trying to be someone I’m not, Granddaddy. Don’t you see? I’m a small-town guy who loves his town and his work. I don’t want to live in a big city. I want to wrangle horses when they get loose, help Mr. Harvey home when he’s too drunk to walk, occasionally save children in bad situations, bust up drug rings, and generally help keep the good people of Water Creek safe. You always said you were happy running your ranch. Why can’t you understand that I’m happy doing what I’m doing? I don’t need the flash of city lights or the accolades of a big department to know who I am.” He pointed at his chest so hard it hurt. “I’m Dean King. Do you hear me? I know who my family is. My father was a good man who lost the love of his life the same day I lost my mother. He worked hard every day because he loved this land, he loved me, and he loved you. He loved raising cattle and training horses. Wherever he is, I know he loved that he died on this land doing exactly that. My granddaddy is a man who has worked hard his entire life. He did what he thought was best for me, and while I appreciate that, as well as everything he did for me, he doesn’t get to tell me who I am or who I can love, ever. Are we clear?” So much for not spiraling into personal territory, but in his defense, Keene started it.

His granddaddy stared at him, his lips trembling, but he said nothing. King turned to Jackson. “I will tell you respectfully that I love your granddaughter, sir. She is everything to me and always has been. I want your permission to date her, but if you can’t grant it, that won’t stop me. She deserves nothing less than your love, all of it, unconditionally, and that includes who she chooses to love. She’s an adult now and can make her own decisions. You don’t get to make them for her anymore, even if that means those decisions take her away from this place.”

Jackson opened his mouth to speak, but King held up his hand as Jacks’s hand tightened on his back. “I’m not saying it will, but you have to trust her. It’s time to trust her. To trust us. We’re not kids anymore.”

Jackson’s gaze drifted to his granddaughter, who rested her cheek against the back of King’s shoulder. “You have my blessing, son. I already told Jacks I made a mistake all those years ago. I’ve told Keene the same. I will carry that guilt forever, but I can see how you look at each other. You’re meant to be together. You always were.”

Keene cleared his throat and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs. “You and Jackson were right. I made a mistake all those years ago when I didn’t give you enough credit, but dammit, I didn’t want you stuck here if you had dreams of going somewhere else. Now I realize I was the one projecting those dreams onto you, not the other way around. You would have been happy to stay here and make this place your home. I’m sorry, son.” He wiped a tear from the corner of his eye before addressing Jacks. “I owe you the biggest apology. I know you are nothing like Vonita. I know you wouldn’t do what she did, but…”

“But once burned, twice shy,” Jacks whispered, smiling as she reached for his grizzled hand. “I get it, Keene. I’m not angry with you. I know your intentions were good, even if your execution was poor. We’re human. We make mistakes. We love. We hurt people. We love some more. It’s part of the experience. I don’t want a rift among any of us. I want us to be a family that accepts each other for who we are, not who we pretend to be.”

Jackson leaned forward and stared at his granddaughter for the longest time. “Do you really mean that, Jackie?”

“Of course, Granddaddy. You know I love you unconditionally. I can be disappointed in you and still love you, but it always comes back to loving and accepting you for who you are, just as you accept me for who I am.”

Jackson’s gaze drifted to Keene as a look passed between them. King saw it then, the thing he could never put his finger on. “Holy shit,” King muttered. “You’re more than best friends.”

Jacks sat up straight. “What?”

When King motioned to the two men, both of them staring at the floor, he knew he was right. “Both of you, look at me,” he ordered, waiting until they lifted their gazes to meet his. “Don’t. Don’t for one second be ashamed of how you feel. Do you hear me? You’ve been hiding long enough. It’s time to stop hiding.”

“What the hell is going on?” Jacks asked in confusion.

Jackson reached over and took Keene’s hand, twining his rough, old, calloused fingers in those of his lover. Jacks sucked in a breath.

King rubbed her back, waiting for her to understand. “Everything in focus now?”

Her laughter was the light. The sound forged a spiritual connection among the four of them that had been missing. “It all makes sense now,” she whispered. “All of it. You never dated in all the years I lived with you. I saw it, but I didn’t see it.”

“We were hiding in plain sight,” Jackson said, his head down again, as though he were still ashamed.

“You didn’t have to, not for us,” King promised the old man.

Keene cleared his throat. “You have to understand, we didn’t grow up in a time when being a gay man, much less a gay rodeo rider, was accepted. You don’t remember a time when being gay wasn’t accepted, but we do,” he explained, motioning between him and Jackson. “We both made mistakes when we were young and on the circuit. We did what a lot of gay men do: we pretended we weren’t. It wasn’t unusual, but we both lucked out. We got your parents, and because of them, we got you. I will never, ever regret having to hide who I was all these years for that reason alone. We know we could come out now, but we still live in a part of the country that isn’t always accepting of everyone. We’re old. We just want to live out our years without worry. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“You’re afraid that if you come out, people will treat you differently,” King said, understanding. They both nodded, and he pursed his lips. “You’re right. This is a small town, so we’ll respect your wishes. But we know now, and you don’t have to pretend around us. Right?” he asked, glancing at Jacks.

“He’s right. God, let’s stop pretending. It’s exhausting. For once, let’s just be who we are and see how it works. I’m pretty sure we’ll all be better for it in the end.”

His granddaddy took Jacks’s hand and held it between his two big ones. “I think you’re right, Puddin’,” he agreed, using his old nickname for her. She sobbed once and launched herself at him, wrapping the old, weathered cowboy in her arms and sobbing over his shoulder as Jackson rubbed her back. “I’m sorry. For everything. I don’t want to lose either of you,” Keene said, stroking her hair, his eyes glittering with unshed tears.

King exhaled the toxic air he’d been breathing for weeks, and the next breath filled him with energy. Finally, there was honesty, even if it came with pain.

Chapter Twenty

Jacks hugged Jackson with the same enthusiasm she’d shown Keene, only now she was laughing instead of crying. “I love you two old farts, you know that?” she whispered. “You’re always getting into trouble, and you’re a giant pain in my backside, but I can’t imagine life without you.”

King watched the woman he loved offer love and forgiveness at the drop of a hat. Never again would he take her for granted.

“I have to go to the bathroom and clean up,” she said, wiping her face as she stood. Jacks turned to him. “Go ahead and tell them about tonight’s plans.”