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“Now, boys,” Rose said, “do we have any other major announcements before I serve the carrot cake I made this afternoon?”
Their younger quartet let out a chorus ofnos.
As the men returned to their seats, Rose went off to get the cake. Jackson pulled Wyatt’s chair out for him before sitting himself, slowly losing the sense of tension he’d felt all day long. Everything was finally out in the open with the elder Woodses, and the rest of the family would find out the news tomorrow. Everything from their new family member to Brand and Hugo’s engagement. He imagined it would be a pretty chaotic dinner.
Wyatt squeezed his thigh, and when Jackson looked at him, his green eyes swam with so much affection and thanks that Jackson nearly lost himself in them. He loved looking into Wyatt’s eyes. He loved teaching Wyatt new things, from how to tie a proper sheet bend double knot to holding a mouth harp right so he didn’t hurt his teeth. There were so many things he wanted to teach and show Wyatt, for them to explore together.
It would be messy and sometimes hard, and there were a lot of new family members about to get tossed into the already complicated mix. But they’d get through it. Jackson truly believed that.
For the first time in his whole life, Jackson knew he was finally home.
Epilogue
Wyatt leaned against the picnic table with a beer in hand, legs spread out in front of him on the trodden earth at this end of the fairgrounds, and soaked in the family all around him. Tonight was the final night of the Claire County Fair, and while the majority of the regular fair activities were over for the year, attendees had gathered under the table-filled pavilion to listen to a local country band cover favorite songs from Johnny Cash to Blake Shelton.
Most of the food stalls were closed, so families had packed coolers and were picnicking together to celebrate the end of the fair and the successes of the blue ribbon winners in all categories. Woods Ranch had won for their organic steer, and Rose proudly showed off blue ribbons for both her peach pie (“I beat that Shirley Johnson two years in a row!” she’d crowed this morning), and her celery relish.
Leanne and Sage had provided the picnic food for the extended Woods clan, who had overtaken two picnic tables close together, farthest from the band so they could talk more easily. They’d even brought a small cake for Wyatt to celebrate his twenty-first birthday, which wasn’t technically for three more days, but they’d insisted since everyone was together. Wyatt’s beer was also hidden inside a cozy, a gift from Jackson, in case anyone looked too close.
Jackson sat beside him and sipped at his own beer, the most relaxed he’d been all weekend. And the most Wyatt had seen his boyfriend all weekend. Even though Wayne had said he’d give Jackson the weekend off to spend at the fair with the family, Jackson insisted on working alongside Alan and Michael to keep the ranch going while the Woodses were away. And while Wyatt had enjoyed the novelty of spending the night in the park’s barns with Brand and their cattle, he’d missed Jackson.
He planned on showing Jackson how much he’d missed him later at the motel.
Wyatt loved spending the night there with Jackson and Dog, not only because he loved the pair, but because it gave them a lot more privacy than at Ramie’s house. They usually only went to Ramie’s house to take advantage of her kitchen and big TV, but Jackson rarely slept over. As serious as Wyatt and Jackson were about their relationship—a hard-won relationship that they’d worked very carefully on these past two months—they’d agreed they weren’t quite ready to move in together yet.
Plus, the secluded motel gave them a lot more space to continue exploring Wyatt’s blossoming kinky side.
“Does anyone want more pasta salad before I put it away?” Rose asked. “Don’t want the mayonnaise to get too warm.”
Wyatt was stuffed full, and it seemed like everyone else was, too. The family was split between the two tables, many still snacking off their plates or out of bags of chips. Michael, Josiah, Michael’s father, Elmer, and their dog Rosco had joined their family, too, and they sat at the same table with Wyatt, Jackson, Brand and Hugo, and Colt and Avery, who’d flown in for the weekend. Rose and Wayne moved between the various groups, sharing their time with all of their friends, kids, and grandkids.
Grandkid.
It was still a bit surreal for Wyatt to consider himself a Woods, even after two months of wrapping his brain around it. Rem and Shelby had been wholly accepting of him and Jackson. Leanne and Sage had welcomed Wyatt into the family as their nephew, and while their husbands were accepting of Wyatt in general, they were not happy about his relationship with Jackson.
Oh well, they could stuff it. Wyatt was thrilled with his relationship with Jackson.
Little Susie walked over to him, the spitting image of her mama. “Are we gonna have cake soon?” she asked.
“Pretty soon, I think,” he replied to the adorable little girl. “Probably when everyone’s dinner has had a chance to settle.”
“I’m settled.”
“No doubt. What did you have for dinner, Susie-bo-boosie?”
She giggled at the nickname he’d bestowed upon her last month. “A chicken leg and corn bread.”
“Hmm. Sounds like you definitely have some room left to fill. Why don’t you go see if Aunt Sage has any more of that fresh-cut fruit?”
“Okay.” She wandered off toward her aunt and various cousins at the other table.
“You’re charming with kids, you know,” Jackson said.
“Not sure how, since I never had any younger siblings.” Wyatt had actually invited his two older step-siblings, Peter and Lily, out for the fair, but they’d both cited work.
After the drama of Jared’s arrest and the plea deals both he and Walters made had settled a bit in the papers, Wyatt had gone home to see his family in Glasbury. It had been a long, hard trip, and it had taken every bit of his courage to tell Jackson no, he could do this on his own. And he had done it, coming out to his stepfather, step-siblings, and both sets of grandparents. He’d also admitted to having a great relationship with Brand and the Woods family.
While Mom’s parents had been furious that Wyatt had secretly gone looking for his father, they’d eventually parted on good terms, and Wyatt had come home to his job, his boyfriend, and his father. A father he still couldn’t call Dad, and he might never, which was okay. They had a long time yet to figure things out between them. And even though Brand and Hugo were planning on a long engagement, Brand had already asked Wyatt to stand up for him as his best man. Wyatt had given him a resounding yes.
