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He reluctantly drove Wyatt back to the Tavern and his car. Wyatt kissed him for a long time, making a silent promise that this wasn’t over. That they’d do it again. And again.
Jackson waited, engine idling, until Wyatt had started his own car and turned onto the road that would eventually lead him back to Weston. He drove to the motel, already missing Wyatt’s smiles and scent and body heat, and unsure how the hell he was going to stay hands-off at work tomorrow.
Getting involved with Wyatt was probably a very bad idea, but it was Jackson’s mistake to make.
He just hoped the whole thing didn’t blow up in their faces.
Chapter Eleven
Wyatt barely paid attention to the fact that Ramie’s car was in the driveway when he stumbled into the house that night, doped up on endorphins and confusion. The living room and kitchen were empty, and he didn’t see her until about fifteen minutes later. He’d nuked a frozen dinner and eaten it in the kitchen, and he was considering texting Jackson about their day together when she shuffled in.
“Welcome home,” she said as she went right for the coffeepot. “Hot date?”
“Something like that. I didn’t bring him home, though, so no problem, right?”
“Yeah, you’re cool.” She set about making a pot of coffee, which meant she was probably working tonight. They hadn’t lived together that long but she never drank coffee at night if she was staying home.
“Ramie, can I ask you something kind of personal?”
“You can ask anything you want, but I don’t guarantee I’ll answer.”
Same as the day he moved in. Consistency was a trait he liked in people. “Do you know who both your bio parents are?”
Ramie turned away from the counter slowly, her whole body pivoting as one unit, muscles tense in her neck and shoulders while her face remained blank. “Why?”
“I’m curious. I don’t know my bio dad. One of the guys—this guy I met last night doesn’t know either of his bio parents, because they gave him up to the system, and he doesn’t seem to care. I guess I used to think that not knowing one of my parents was unusual, but I guess maybe not so much? It’s why I’m asking. I’d hate to be that spoiled, sheltered brat who thought everyone else had great, nuclear-family parents and am just figuring out that’s a lie, but I guess that’s who I am.”
“Hey, there’s nothing wrong with that. There are hundreds of millions of people who grow up in a traditional nuclear family, and that’s what’s normal to them. A lot of us don’t get that, and that’s normal to us. Nothing better or worse about any of it, though, it’s just different. We’re different from what was considered the norm fifty years ago and that’s fine. Times change. People change.”
“I guess.” He poked at the final bits of his frozen meal, mostly for something to do with his hand. “So you didn’t have a traditional nuclear family?”
“Actually, I did. Bio mom and bio dad, but they had an awful marriage. Nuclear doesn’t always mean good or healthy, and does not guarantee a happy or harmonious family. Only love does that. And love comes in a lot of shapes and sizes, as I’m sure you know.”
“How’s that?”
“The ranch. I mean, the Woods family is obviously the epitome of a solid nuclear family, that bullshit with Colt aside, of course. But you, Alan, Jackson, Hugo, you cowboys are like a little family of your own, right?”
“I guess.” No way was Wyatt admitting to how close he and Jackson had gotten today. So far, she hadn’t nosed her way into his personal business or which friend he’d spent the night with. “I haven’t actually met Alan yet because he broke his hand the day before I was hired, but I understand what you mean.” He stood and tossed the dinner tray into the trash can. “Guess I’ve been so focused on that traditional family dynamic that I never gave a lot of thought to all the other kinds of families that exist.”
“Welcome to the real world, honey. And no offense, but you’re still a baby in the grand scheme of things.”
He understood her point of view but also resented being talked down to. “So if your parents were so toxic, who’s your family now?”
Instead of getting annoyed and leaving him alone, she smiled. “The people I work with at the Roost. Brand. A few girlfriends I confide in over social media. Someone doesn’t have to be physically in front of you to be your family.”
“You really consider Brand family? I mean, I guess you’re good friends if his word was enough for you to rent me a room.” Yeah, he was digging, but after his conversation with Jackson today about Wyatt’s reason for being in Claire County at all, he couldn’t help himself.
“Brand is one of those guys you want at your back during a crisis. He’s an amazing friend. If you have one of those kinds of friends in your back pocket? The kind who will step into traffic for you? Or just bring you a piece of pie when you’re having a bad day? You’re golden.”
“You believe in him that much.” Less a question than a statement based on her tone of voice.
“I do.” She pulled a coffee mug out of a cabinet and set it by the brewing pot. “Brand and I share a similar thing in our pasts, things that happened long before we met and got to be friends. But it bonded us and before you even think of asking, I’m not telling what that thing is because it’s hugely personal and a little painful. I know he’s your boss but he’s loyal. You hear what he and his family did for Josiah Sheridan last fall?”
“No.” He knew the name Josiah in relation to dating fellow cowboy Michael but that was it.
“Josiah is a home-care nurse, and his roommate kicked him out without notice or any kinda warning, and he tried to keep all Josiah’s stuff. When his now-boyfriend Michael heard about it, his dad called Wayne Woods, who collected his sons, plus Michael, and they went and got Josiah’s stuff. They had Michael’s back and by extension, Josiah’s.”
“But Josiah helped save Brand’s life when he was stabbed, right?”
