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“Do you think Hugo will go for that? He always struck me as the romantic type. I mean, the guy pined after you for ten years, and then he came back and won you.”
“Yeah, he did. And we haven’t brought up marriage or anything yet, I just want him to know I’m serious about us. I don’t say ‘I love you’ a lot, because that’s just not me.”
“So you want to show him with a grand gesture.”
“I do. And you know what? If Hugo says he wants to go straight to town hall for a marriage license and do it this weekend? I will in a heartbeat. The ranch is doing well, so there’s no money issues to worry about. I just...” He made a noise, maybe a sigh, and Wyatt pressed his ear to the door. “I just want Hugo to be happy.”
“I know and so does he. Congrats, boss, I mean it.”
“Thank you.”
No one spoke for long enough that Wyatt wondered if they were hugging, and he couldn’t help a tiny pang of jealousy. Jealousy that made no sense. Sure, Wyatt and Jackson were now exclusively dating each other, but a hug was just a hug between boss and employee. And friends. And ex-lovers.
Not going there.
“So is there a third thing?” Jackson asked in a joking tone. “Or can I get back to what I was doing?”
“No, man, that was it. Thanks for listening. Again, I’m sorry for ambushing you. I really needed to talk this out away from the ranch.”
“S’okay.”
“See you at work tomorrow. And don’t wear out that wrist.”
They both laughed. Wyatt had been confused about a comment Brand made earlier, and now it hit him that Brand probably thought Jackson was sitting around jerking off. Wyatt smiled at the door. Jackson had definitelygottenoff today. It sounded like a door opened and shut, but Wyatt still waited for Jackson to open the bathroom door.
He blinked hard against the bright light. “Um, hi. Come here often?”
Jackson snorted and kissed him. “You didn’t have to hide, but I understand why you did. Hard to keep this a secret at the ranch if the boss finds us together like this. I guess you probably heard us talking.”
“Yeah.” Wyatt flinched, then followed Jackson into the main room. Dumped his stuff on a chair and sat on the bed beside Jackson. “So you and my May—my boss used to hook up here, I assume, so that’s why he knows where you live?” Lame statement since he remembered too late Jackson saying Brand had never been here before, but Wyatt was still coming down off the adrenaline spike of nearly being caught in bed with Jackson.
“When we hooked up, Brand was still keepin’ the fact that he’s bisexual a secret, so we used each other to scratch that itch, but not here. This was my place away from work, and even though what Brand and I did was personal, I didn’t wanna mix my place with anyone who reminded me of work. So we mostly fucked in the barn. I was a little disappointed when he ended things, but I knew what we had was temporary. We’d both said it from the start.” Jackson squeezed his knee. “I know I asked once before, but does knowing that bother you? Honestly?”
Yeah, but probably not for the reason you think, because I’m too stubborn to tell you who I think Brand really is.“Because you were fucking the boss but don’t want the boss to know you’re fucking a coworker? Not really. You said you try to keep work and sex separate because of your past, but you brought me here.”
“You’re different.”
“I still remind you of work.”
“You’re not my boss.”
Wyatt could accept that for now, and he liked knowing he was different, maybemorespecial for Jackson to break his own rules. “So we’ve both got our reasons for keeping this thing private.”
“Right. And this is still new, so how about we give it a few weeks? Later on, if one of us starts feelin’ different, maybe wants other people to know, we’ll sit down and talk about it like grown-ups.”
“Yes. Like grown-ups.”
He didn’t always feel like a grown-up. Some days he still felt like a kid seeking his parents’ approval. Other days, he felt way too old for his age and life experience. Jackson made him feel mature, because he didn’t treat Wyatt like he was a kid, didn’t look down on his age or act superior because of his own. No one had ever treated Wyatt so carefully, like an equal, and he fell for the older man a little bit more that afternoon.
He still felt weird after hearing straight from Brand’s mouth that Jackson and Brand used to fuck but had no way of explaining it to Jackson without revealing the truth of what he suspected. So he kept it to himself for now, grabbed Jackson by the shoulders and kissed him. A hard kiss full of intent, and Jackson got on board quickly. They shed their jeans, got back into bed, and that was all that mattered for a long time.
Chapter Fourteen
“Hey, man, who pissed in your boot this afternoon?” Michael leaned against the break room’s doorway, both hands tucked into his jeans pockets, his expression mild but curious.
“No one, why?” Jackson asked. He stood at the coffeepot, waiting for some fresh coffee to brew while in between chores. His plan to spend the afternoon riding the fence line with Wyatt had been shot to hell a few hours ago, so why not tar his insides with the strong coffee blend Brand bought for the barn.
“You just seemed, I don’t know, gruffer than usual. Are you mad at Wyatt for getting himself hurt again?”
