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“Even though Ramie knows?”
“Ramie is very discreet. I trust her to keep us bein’ in bed together to herself.”
“Me too.” If Jackson, who was incredibly slow to trust, trusted Ramie about this then Wyatt would, too. “And I’m glad you were here. Jared’s going to kill me.”
“Why? You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I don’t know.” He pulled back far enough to look Jackson in the eyes. “Things were a little off between us when I left. Like, he supported my choice to come here and do this, but he also didn’t approve. Does that make sense?”
“It does.” A new kind of protectiveness and affection simmered in the depths of Jackson’s dark brown eyes, and Wyatt soaked it in. He hoped his own eyes reflected something similar. “I should probably go.”
As much as Wyatt wanted to ask him to stay, he knew Jackson wouldn’t. Not only to keep their secret, but because he had Dog waiting for him at home. Wyatt was incredibly fond of the cute mutt, and she was probably missing her daddy like crazy. “See you at work tomorrow,” Wyatt said. “Give Dog a kiss for me.”
Jackson laughed. “Kiss her yourself next time. Try to get some sleep, okay? And if you want, we can look into installing an alarm system in your car.”
We.“Maybe. Thank you.” He kissed his boyfriend at the front door, then watched him disappear down the semi-lit street. A tiny flash of worry over this mysterious car thief wiggled down his spine, but it disappeared quickly. Jackson was more than capable of taking care of himself.
Still. He pulled out his phone.
Wyatt: Text me when you get home. Please.
He was lying in bed, in the dark, trying not to fall asleep when his phone pinged with a reply.
Jackson: Home. Sleep now.
Wyatt smiled and closed his eyes, then welcomed sleep with open arms.
Jackson was dragging a bit when he arrived at the ranch for work, despite having drank about an entire pot of coffee before leaving the motel. He’d been exhausted when he arrived home but his brain was still full of Wyatt, the confessions from last night, how much he loved falling asleep with Wyatt in his arms, and then the drama of the car thief. He was so grateful to have been there for Wyatt, even if he’d mostly stood by and offered silent support. Wyatt’s thanks had been sincere, and Jackson only wished he could have done more. He’d had half a mind to whisk Wyatt away to the motel for the night, but that would have just complicated things even more.
Not that they weren’t already complicated with Ramie basically in on their secret relationship, and now the acting sheriff knew Jackson and Wyatt had a friendship beyond the ranch. Not that Jackson expected the news to get back to Brand or anyone else at the ranch, because why would it? Weston was a small town, but he didn’t see many folks gossiping about an interrupted car theft. Or interrupted theft of its contents, since the only damage was to the trunk and not one of the doors.
Knowing that made Jackson lean more toward teenage prank. Pop the trunk open and run! Or get in and steal the spare tire! Something bored, idiot teens would dare their friend to do just to post on social media and prove how brave he was. Still, it irritated him that of all the cars on the road, they’d picked Wyatt’s to break into. If the cops actually caught whoever it was, Jackson would relish the chance to scare the holy hell out of them to keep them from doing anything so stupid again.
He had to piss like crazy when he got to the ranch, so he headed toward the bunkhouse. Hands used to use the downstairs bathroom of the main house, until the bunkhouse was cleaned up and converted back into a livable space. Brand and Hugo didn’t mind the hands using that bathroom, because they were all respectful of the fact that the pair lived there. No one went into their shared bedroom, or into Brand’s office without permission.
He opened the bunkhouse door in time to see Hugo and Brand in the midst of what looked like a pretty passionate kiss near their bedroom door. Not wanting to interrupt, Jackson backed up a few steps until they broke apart. Hugo spotted him first and flashed an “oops” smile in Jackson’s direction.
“Mornin’,” Jackson said. “Sorry, drank too much coffee.”
“No worries,” Hugo replied. “I’m heading out. See you in the barn.”
“Yeah.”
Hugo darted past him. Brand nodded in his direction without saying anything, so Jackson went to the can. Did his business. Brand was in the same spot when he came out, watching him with an indecipherable expression. “You need somethin’, boss?” Jackson asked.
“Huh?” Brand blinked dumbly several times. “Oh, sorry. I got lost in thought, is all.”
“Thinking about that thing we talked about last week?”
“Kind of. Hugo and I had a long talk last night about a lot of stuff, mostly our commitment to each other and to making this work for the long haul. Getting married one day down the road, when we’re both ready. I didn’t give him the ring yet, but now...” He grinned. “When I do it’ll be a real proposal. Even if it’s a long-term engagement, I wanna marry him.”
“I’m glad. You two make sense together.”
“We do. More than I ever thought possible. You find somebody who makes you feel that way, Jackson, you hold on tight.”
“I’ll do my best.” Wyatt was someone Jackson could see himself with for a long time, but the fact that Wyatt still had one big secret he was keeping from Jackson worried him. Wyatt’s age also kept him from going all in with the kid this soon into them dating. Yes, they were exclusive. Yes, Jackson was incredibly happy with him. Yes, he wanted things to last far into the future.
No, he wasn’t one hundred percent positive they would.
