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“Do you ever regret not keeping in touch with more of your siblings?”
“No. No, I needed to leave as much of that life behind so I could build my own future, and I did. Hit some rough patches for sure, but I’m here now. Happy. Well, mostly happy but that’s something we need to work on together.”
Wyatt’s green eyes widened with hope. “Yeah?”
“Yes. I love you, Wyatt. Been falling this whole time, even though I didn’t realize it at first, and then I wanted to ignore it, because of us workin’ together, but I don’t wanna ignore it anymore. I wanna work on it, not throw it away because I’m hurt and angry.”
“I think I love you, too, Jackson.” Wyatt squeezed both of Jackson’s hands. “I feel good when I’m with you and I don’t just mean sex. Even if all we’re doing is staring out at the wilderness, I am happy and settled in a way I never have been before. I want to be with you all the time. You make me so happy, and I will do whatever it takes to earn your trust back, I promise.”
“I believe you.” Jackson pulled their joined hands into his own lap and held them there. “I’m just gonna need time and your patience, okay? We gotta build from the ground back up again.”
“You’ve got both. Promise.” In a surprise move, Wyatt let go of his hands and stood. “Hi there, sir. I’m Wyatt Gibson, and I’m here in town because I want to get a job working at Woods Ranch and maybe become a decent cowboy, even though I have no experience in the life. I also suspect that the ranch foreman, Brand Woods, might be the biological father who abandoned me and my mom twenty years ago, but I want to check out him and his family before I say anything to anyone about it. Nice to meet you.”
Jackson chuckled at Wyatt’s adorable combination of sincerity and dorkishness with that ramble. He held out his hand. “Nice to meet you. Jackson Sumner, professional cowboy with trust issues, a dog named Dog, and I live in a motel.”
“Great to meet you.” Wyatt shook his hand in a firm grip, before plopping back down on the cushion beside him. “So how about you show me how to play that mouth harp thingie.”
“We can do that. One thing first?”
“Sure.”
Jackson leaned in and kissed him softly. Not the hard kiss he wanted, because of Wyatt’s nose, but it was a quiet promise to persevere through this latest hardship. To re-create things with a solid foundation and come out solid on the other side. To say “I love you” again without words. Wyatt seemed to say it back, and they settled in for a while, Dog at their feet, to play beautiful music together.
After a long dinnertime conversation the next day with Brand, Hugo, Jackson, and Wyatt at Ramie’s house, they all agreed to tell Brand’s parents first about Wyatt’s parentage. His parents had known and liked Ginny a lot before their families went to war over the pregnancy. Wyatt also said he wanted to come out to them, too, so they knew it all up front, no secrets.
Brand was a touch nervous about Dad’s reaction, though not necessarily to Wyatt being gay. As time passed, Dad was becoming more openly accepting of both Colt and Brand being queer, rather than silently tolerating it. No, Brand was worried about the age gap between Jackson and Wyatt, and how his parents might perceive that: Jackson taking advantage of a young kid on a quest to find himself.
But if coming out right away was Wyatt’s choice, Brand wouldn’t talk him out of it, and Jackson seemed completely on board.
So Saturday evening, once chores were done for the day, Wyatt, Jackson, and Hugo sat down with Brand and his parents for a clean-out supper. Mom liked to use Saturday as an excuse to use up leftovers and get the fridge ready for the food she’d make tomorrow night for the bigger family dinner. With six of them at the table, there wasn’t a Pyrex container left in the fridge that hadn’t been reheated.
Mom asked about Wyatt’s nose, and he told them all a bit more about those few hours he’d spent with Antonio Walters and the dramatic ending. His car was at Murphy’s shop and should be finished Monday. He’d worked a half day today to test the waters as his nose healed, and Jackson had run out to pick him up.
Dad talked a bit about the county fair coming up in April. It was back to being hosted at the regular fairgrounds this year, and he was eager to once again show off their organic beef, which had gotten a decent launch at last year’s fair. Brand was excited too, because their first two slaughters had sold well, and they now had a contract with the Grove Point CSA to offer their beef as an option in the subscription boxes.
It meant doing business with Hugo’s estranged stepfather, but that was part of being an adult.
By the end of the meal, Mom began fidgeting in her seat and tossing Brand meaningful looks, like she knew he had something to tell her. It wasn’t as if he invited two employees into the house for supper all that often, but she couldn’t have a single possible clue what Brand had to tell her tonight.
“Boys,” Dad said after a long gulp of his lemonade, attention on both Brand and Hugo. “Did you have something you wanted to share tonight?”
Wyatt frowned.
Hugo glanced at Brand quizzically, then down to his own left hand, which rested on the table by his empty plate. Gold glinted. Brand’s chest heated. Oops. While working out in the barn or riding, especially in winter, Hugo had always worn gloves around Dad. Until tonight. Hugo dropped his hands to his lap.
“Well, uh, there is something I need to tell you both,” Brand said, a little thrown now because he and Hugo had wanted to wait. “We were going to announce this to the whole family tomorrow. We just, um, forgot about the ring.”
Mom squeaked. “You’re engaged?”
“We are. I proposed and Hugo said yes.”
“Oh, honey!” She rose and circled the table to hug him hard, already sniffling back tears. “I’m so happy for you both. I’ve never seen you as happy as since you and Hugo got together.”
“Thanks, Mom.” He took a moment to study Dad while Mom strangled Hugo with a hug. Dad’s face was calm, his eyes giving away nothing. But he hadn’t stormed off or done anything rude. He was simply...listening. Absorbing. “Dad?”
“Seems soon,” Dad said. “It’s not been a year yet.”
“You proposed to Mom after four months.”
