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“Yes. And I’ll tell you more about that at some point, I promise. I just...need more time before I confront him.”
“So you think you know who he is?”
“Yes. I also really love my job at the ranch, and if confronting my Maybe Daddy hurts that in any way, or if I feel like I need to leave town, that’ll really hurt me. I like it here, and Ramie’s a dream roommate.”
“You’ve got allies at the ranch, Wyatt. Me, Michael, Hugo, and the entire Woods family. We wouldn’t let some stranger who dropped his sperm once upon a time and then disowned it run you out of town. You’ve got my word.”
“Thank you.”
The unfamiliar sound of an engine outside and gravel crunching sent Jackson’s pulse racing. He never had visitors and definitely wasn’t expecting anyone. He climbed off the bed and glanced out the window. One of the ranch pickups was pulling in beside Jackson’s, and he quickly recognized Brand behind the wheel.
“It’s Brand,” he said.
“Shit, really?” Wyatt scrambled to his feet and yanked his shirt off the floor. “He can’t find us together like this. Why’s he even here?”
“How should I know? He’s never been here before.” Back during their arrangement, Brand never came over here for sex. They’d mostly fucked in the hayloft, occasionally in one of their trucks, because Jackson valued his privacy and solitude. His address was obviously in his personnel file, so it had to be serious for Brand to have hunted him down. Jackson didn’t want to do something asshole-ish like ask Wyatt to hide in the closet, because he wasn’t ashamed of their relationship. He just didn’t want it mixed in with work.
Wyatt seemed to read his mind. He grabbed his boots and socks and bolted into the bathroom, closing the door quietly behind him. Jackson stared at the door until Brand knocking startled him back into his head. Brand stood on his stoop, hat in hand, an unfamiliar, tentative smile on his face.
“Hey, man, somethin’ wrong?” Jackson asked.
“No, nothing’s wrong. I just wanted to talk to you. About personal stuff.”
“Oh, uh, come in then.” He and Brand used to talk about personal stuff at work when no one else was around, usually in between stealing quickies in the barn. But when Brand ended their arrangement and asked to keep things professional at the ranch from now on, Jackson had taken that literally. Plus, Jackson knew from past experience, he wasn’t the first person Brand turned to for advice. “Ramie busy?”
“Actually, this is only partly about me and I didn’t want to spread your business to her, so I came here first.”
“For the first time, too. A phone call would’ve been nice.”
Brand seemed to notice his half-dressed state for the first time. “Shit, did I interrupt something? Were you, uh?” He made a jerking-off gesture.
“It’s fine.” Jackson gestured at the two sitting chairs. “So what’s up, boss?”
“Well, first I was curious about you. You seem different at work recently. More upbeat, I guess.”
“A good mood’s a bad thing?”
“No, I guess I was wondering if you’d met someone? I know you’d rather have flings than serious relationships. You made that very clear while we were fucking around.”
Jackson’s heart skipped and it took all his self-control not to glance at the bathroom door. He’d told Wyatt about his arrangement with Brand, but it was weird to be discussing it with Wyatt on the other side of the door. And Brand saying Jackson wasn’t interested in serious relationships was a harsh slap at what he hoped to try to build with Wyatt.
Hiding in the bathroom like a teenager sneaking into a girl’s room on a school night was a tacky thing to do, but Wyatt wasn’t ready for Brand to know about him and Jackson. And there was no other explanation for two bare-chested men together in a motel room than they were fucking around. So he hid and tried not to eavesdrop, but the bathroom had a very thin door. When Brand dropped the “when we were fucking around,” comment, Wyatt nearly dropped his boots.
He was so damned casual about saying it. Sure, Wyatt knew Jackson and Brand had been together and it ended a while ago, but it weirded Wyatt out now as much as it had when he first found out. Jackson used to sleep with Wyatt’s Maybe—nope, not going there. He really didn’t need those mental images in his head, especially after having just fucked Jackson.
“I’m not completely against a serious relationship,” Jackson said. “But that wasn’t what you wanted, so I never pushed for anything more than what we had. You threw me for a loop when you got serious with Hugo, but you two make each other happy. I see it every day. I’m happy for you guys.”
“I know, and thank you. And if you happen to find someone who makes you happy, I’ll be just as happy for you, too. Hand to God, no jealousy or anything.”
“Thanks, Brand.” He said something else too softly for Wyatt to make out, and as shitty as he felt for listening in, he couldn’t stop now. Several long moments passed before their voices returned to normal levels. “So you said that was the first thing? Is there a second thing for me, or is that one for Ramie?”
Brand laughed. “I already know what Ramie will say. I wanted to get your opinion on something. I know it’s going to seem really fast to some, because we haven’t even been together a full year yet, but I want to give Hugo one of these.”
“Holy shit, boss, are you proposing to Hugo?”
Wyatt nearly dropped his boots a second time. He hadn’t even “met” his father officially yet, and he was getting another stepfather?
“No,” Brand said. “Yes? Kind of? I want to promise him forever with this gesture, but I also don’t want to push him into getting married if he isn’t ready. It doesn’t even have to be an official engagement.”
