Texas_Heat- (14 page)

"Everything okay?" Riley said from under the sheet. All that Jack could see of his husband was the tufts of blond hair and the distinctive shape of six foot four inches of man on the bed. Yesterday and into today had been tough all round so there was no wonder Riley was hiding away from light and turning into a mushroom. What Josiah had done was reminiscent of the type of crap Gerald had pulled. The same kind of thing Riley's brother Jeff had done, casting doubt, making up shit that looked official. There was a meeting at eleven with attorneys and legal aides and everyone else from the directory of legal support. Thankfully it was here, but still, Riley was exhausted.

"Everything's fine. I waited for Robbie. Go to sleep, we can talk in the morning."
"What did he say?" Riley's face appeared from under the sheet and he blinked at the soft light from the bedside lamp. "Did he agree to stay at the Double D for the long term?"
"Not exactly. But he didn't say no, just that he would think on it."
"He's never stayed in one place for longer than a year, not since his boyfriend died. I'm not sure he thinks he
can
stay here."
"We have another few months. Maybe we can convince him."
"We can try."
"Eli was up in Robbie's room."
"Was he?"
Jack knew it wasn't that Riley disbelieved what he said. They had both wondered how Eli would manage to wear Robbie down enough to get in his bed.
"Robbie had a way about him tonight. He was relaxed and happy. I think Eli would be good for him."
Riley's cell chirped and he looked over at their clock. Jack passed it to him—Riley had to answer. CH and the new syndicate were less than forty-eight hours from a decision on the rights and they still had the thorny issue of making sure the new bid was locked down legally so that it would just be the four of them, no longer including Josiah after he showed his colors on the rival bid. Riley was lucky if he was going to get enough sleep before tomorrow's meeting let alone over the next two days. He looked a little gray and way beyond exhausted.
"Eden?"
Jack unashamedly listened in. Eden calling was a very different thing to one of the syndicate calling, or a representative, or a lawyer. Jack generally drifted away on his own thoughts when Riley went into oilman mode.
"Okay. Calm down. Have you called Mom? Dad… Jim?"
"What's wrong?" Jack interrupted.
Riley held up a hand and Jack bit his tongue. Riley nodded and then ended the call with an, 'I'll be right there'.
"Where? Where are we going to be?" If Riley said he was going somewhere and looked this damned serious then Jack was going too.
"It's Sean," Riley explained. He too was dressing in record time and he grabbed his phone, wallet, watch, and keys from the bedside table. "He was caught in some kind of trouble. I don't know any more. Eden wasn't making sense. We're meeting them at Mercy."
The hospital? What the hell has happened?
"Some kind of fight. I don't know, Eden couldn't get the words out."

As soon as Riley went through security, Eden was there. She nearly threw herself at him and he held her as close as he could.

"What happened?" Jack asked.
"We'd gone out for dinner—he's going away tomorrow—was—we were waiting for a table and these photographers came over and Sean just lost his temper. I've never seen him so angry. There was a fight and he smashed a camera. They had to pull him off and he was shouting all these things about men dying and…" Her steam ran out and Riley helped her through a door marked families and encouraged her to the first chair.
A quick scan revealed the room was empty and Jack stood against the door, guarding it with arms crossed over his broad chest.
Riley turned his sister's face with a gentle touch, two butterfly bandages closing a cut on her face.
"What happened to you?"
"It was Sean. He—"
She didn't even finish. Riley was on his feet and at the door in seconds with murder in his heart. Jack blocked his way.
"Let her finish," Jack said.
Riley thought about arguing for a second but then Eden was talking and as Riley listened the horror inside him rose.
"He didn't mean to. He wouldn't hurt me, Riley. He loves me. There was broken glass, a mirror I think, and someone came at me. Sean pushed me to one side and took the full force of the remains of the mirror." She touched her face. "This…" Her voice broke. "This was nothing. Riley… he's… Sean's face, his eye."
Riley crossed to his sister.
"Where is he now?"
"Surgery. They…" Eden's face crumpled and she buried her face in her hands.
Riley couldn't hear anything else. He held his little sister tightly as she sobbed against his chest. Her story didn't make a lot of sense. Sean was the most gentle of guys and for all of Riley's big brother protectiveness about this whole Afghanistan thing he was a good guy. Whether or not he was the right guy for Eden? Hell, Riley was the first to admit he had a skewed perspective. It's what big brothers did.
A fight? Glass, a mirror, and Sean losing his temper? And now in surgery for damage to what? His eye? His face.
"Shall I go and see what I can find out?" Jack said softly.
Riley doubted that Eden heard Jack and he simply nodded. Maybe if they had the entire story then some of this would make more sense.
Five minutes after Jack was gone Jim and Sandra arrived. Evidently Eden had called them as well, and finally with a few exchanged words about what the hell was going on they fell silent. Sandra sat next to her daughter stroking her back and whispering words of reassurance, Jim was pacing.
"Jack went to find out what is happening," Riley explained.
"There's police outside. He's talking to them," Jim said. "They'll want to speak to Eden but I explained she wasn't well. I'm not sure how long they will wait."
Riley nodded and gently eased Eden away from him. She looked white, the cut on her forehead standing out in stark relief against her pale skin. Her eyes looked impossibly green against the red from crying and she was looking at Riley like he may have all the answers.
"You up to talking to the cops?" Riley asked gently.
"It's my fault, Riley. If I hadn't kept secrets… if Jeff… the Universe is paying me back."
Riley stopped her then with a gentle shake. Christ, if anyone heard her saying this stuff and put two and two together to make five then secrets buried with Gerald Hayes and the real identity of who killed Jeff would be too close to the surface to hide. Fear knifed through Riley and the hushed silence in the room was absolute. What if his sister mentioned the name Lisa and the fact it had been her who had killed Jeff?
"Stop that now," he said firmly. "You don't say stuff like that. Ever. You hear me?"
"Riley?" She was crying again, huge, wrenching sobs that forced their way from her heart. "I need to know what's happening to Sean."
"Jack will find out," Sandra interrupted. "Let's get you taken care of, sweetheart." Sandra had her no-nonsense mom voice going on and she turned to Jim. "You take Riley outside and stall them. Eden and I will be out in a few minutes."
Riley stood and let his dad out of the room first. If anyone could school Eden in how to keep secrets it was their mom. If anyone found out it was Lisa who had pulled the trigger and killed her husband… it didn't bear thinking about. Riley had grown so blasé about it all—it was such a long time ago and there were so many reasons Lisa had snapped. When she heard what Jeff said, how he had raped Jack's sister, Beth, how he was hurting her and other, much younger, girls, she had been pushed over the edge. Riley didn't judge Lisa but had somehow compartmentalized everything that had happened like it was unimportant. If Eden said anything about their brother? How could he have just pushed his concerns to one side like that? There needed to be damage limitation on a daily basis and he needed to keep his eye on the ball.
They exited straight into chaos.
Jack was standing firm, guarding the door from the other side. His feet were firmly planted on the white floor and his legs spread a little. He was not going to be moved. Riley met his gaze and Jack nodded. Jack had this handled and for that Riley loved his husband even more. He could rely on Jack one hundred percent. Total and absolute support.
"We need to get in there to speak to Eden Hayes." The uniformed cop looked like he wanted to be in a million other places than this one. He was sweating, red-faced, and had the look of a man on the edge.
"She'll be out in a minute," Riley said.
"Sir—"
"She'll. Be. Out. In. A. Minute." Riley repeated each word clearly, and stood shoulder to shoulder with Jack. "What's the situation, Jack?" he asked.
"Sean's back in a room. Surgery was good. He's handcuffed to the bed on suspicion of assault. He's unconscious and likely to be so for the next twenty-four hours."
Riley heard every word and as each piece of news hit him he wondered what the fuck they had wandered into here. Jim intervened. Gently but firmly he guided the cop away, in full-on lawyer mode instantly. Citing one of many provisos and addendums and codes that went right over Riley's head, made the cop go from agitated to respectful in a second. When two more officers arrived, neither in uniform, Riley recognized one of them as the cop involved in Jeff's murder case. Stone or something. Great. Just fucking great.
"Riley Campbell-Hayes," he held out a hand which Riley shook, "Detective Tom Stafford." The other cop with him was in conversation with the uniform and Jim.
"Why is a Dallas PD homicide detective involved in this?" To Riley's knowledge no one had died.
Tom shrugged. "I was just passing. Heard there was a Hayes involved. You know I have a special interest in your family and wondered if I could help." He didn't elaborate any further.
"For a start you can un-cuff my sister's fiancé unless you are arresting unconscious people."
"Procedure, Mr Campbell-Hayes. Sean Harris was seen threatening a fellow patron at a restaurant—"
"Some reporters from a dirt magazine," Riley spat.
"With all due respect, everyone, regardless of their career choices, are as worthy of our protection as the next man."
Riley doubted that but he didn't say. No point in arguing any defense—that wasn't why he was here.
The door to the family room opened and a composed Eden exited, following closely by Sandra.
"Miss Hayes." Tom stepped forward. "I wonder if I might ask a few questions."
Riley watched his sister visibly draw herself tall and inhale and exhale deeply before she simply said.
"Of course."

Robbie shut his cell with a look of determination on his face.
"What did he say?" Eli asked.
They had moved into the main house when Jack had asked them to sit with Hayley while they went at the hospital to find out what had happened.
"Not much. Just that we should just stay here with Hayley and would we mind babysitting for the next few hours. He says he's going to get Riley back home as soon as he can."
Eli checked his watch. "The rodeo guys will be here in an hour for the shoot."
"Can I help you?" Hayley wandered into the kitchen and clambered into her chair.
Eli's photographer eyes could see the beauty in Hayley. With Riley's hazel-green eyes and the elfin shape to her face he knew Riley would be daddy to one hell of a heartbreaker. She was taking the news about her Aunty Eden and Sean, the man she called uncle, very well. As far as she was concerned her daddies were handling it and in her world that was more than enough. Having seen the two men together Eli didn't dismiss this. They were formidable as a couple.
"Of course you can, sweetheart. I'll need someone to assist me and my friend Lauren with telling the guys where to stand. You want to do that?"
"Yes, please. Oh, and can I bring my own camera? Pappa said I could use his anytime I wanted."
"Go fetch it and we'll make sure it's all charged up."
A knock on the door heralded the entrance of Lauren, who had arrived with the van of equipment. She was a whirlwind of organization and when the stylist arrived it was all systems go.
"How are you going to keep it in your pants today?" Lauren whispered as they walked toward the six models clustered around one of the horses on the Double D.
Eli caught sight of Robbie in the middle of them all, animated as he discussed horses and whatever the hell else he was an expert in. Robbie's face was all smiles, and his body language was relaxed. Eli had never actually seen his cowboy as loose as this, apart from after the frankly awesome sex.
Love. In Eli's mind he was making love. Let Robbie have his little fantasy that this was just sex and that he was leaving the ranch, and indeed Texas, at the end of the year. Eli had another three months to persuade him to stay. "Not interested," he answered.
"Six buff and au naturel cowboys and you don't think you are going to get a taste. Who are you kidding?" Lauren was incredulous.
Eli shrugged. Why would she think any different? All Lauren had seen in him in the three years they had been working together was short-term hookups.
"I have my own cowboy," he said. "Why would I want another one?"
They had reached the group by then and Eli switched into photographer mode. If only every man was as lucky as to tell six cowboys to strip to their underwear in the barn.
For the fact the guys weren't streetwise models Lauren kept out of the way and allowed them to undress and dress in peace but the stylist was itching to get her hands on all of them.
"I don't want them ruined," Eli had argued.
"Just some foundation to—"
"No."
"Haircuts?"
"I'm not photographing faces. This is torso, legs, and ass work."
In fact he did end up catching the entire cowboy each time. But they wore Stetsons—real ones that were colored with age—and faces were in shadow. He grouped them on a fence and shot upward against the crisp blue sky or took them singly one by one to stand with horses. Hayley mimicked his actions and made friends with the cowboys, the absolute center of attention. She loved it and it took her mind off of where her daddy and pappa were.
When they had finished for the day Eli was excited about the shots he had achieved, and he sent a few of the raw images off to Michael and his team. The feedback he had almost straight away was positive with some suggestions. Nothing that meant re-shooting the men, only improvements that could be made for color in the editing stage.
Finally only Lauren remained and she was loading the van up with the equipment that needed storing.
"So, he's the one then? The guy, Robbie, who was hanging around."
"He's the one," Eli said.
"He's hot." She smirked.
Eli laughed. Yes he was hot in his low-slung jeans with the sweat of work sheening his body and his muscles bunching and relaxing as he worked. But there was more to Robbie than that.
"Yeah. He's my forever man. The one I can see waking up next to until the day I die." He hesitated for a moment, "Whenever that is."
"You love him?"
"Yeah." His voice softened. "His heart is so big and I know if I could show him how good we can be that he'd see he was able to love me too."
"What if I do already?"
Eli spun on his feet. Robbie was maybe a foot or so behind him and Lauren was smirking.
"I'm gone," she said. With an air kiss she was away from the ranch in a cloud of dust.
Finally Eli and Robbie were alone standing in the yard in front of the ranch.
"What do you mean?"
"What if, and God knows how you did this, what if you already made me think I should be staying here past the year and giving us the chance to see where this goes?"
"You just said…" Eli couldn't form the words. He had heard right, hadn't he?
"I said what if I already did love you?"
"You did," Eli confirmed. Hope bloomed inside him.
"I was watching you when you were working with the guys today. They respected you. Couple of them called you hot and wondered if you were gay. I didn't like it."
Disappointment chased away the hope.
"So," Eli said. "Just jealousy then? You want something they wanted."
Robbie chuckled and took a step forward. "You look like a kid that was promised a pony and was given a wooden horse." He cupped Eli's face and pressed a gentle kiss to Eli's forehead.
Robbie continued. "It sure as hell opened my eyes. So I spent the day watching you. The way you smile and laugh, the way you encouraged Hayley, the jokes you shared with Lauren, and I saw underneath all the cocky confidence."
"Shit. You did?"
"You're my kind of guy, Elijah Martin."
Eli wrapped his hands around the back of Robbie's neck and pulled him in for a kiss.
"So is this saying that you are staying now? Or am I following you around the country?"
"I'm thinking I might. Wanna move into a one-room apartment over a barn?"
"And give up my expensive sterile loft with its hot and cold running maid service? Hell yes."
They kissed deeply and the emotion that had been building inside of Eli burst out in a slash of passion and want.
"Eli! Robbie! I got cola out for us!"
Hayley's not so little voice echoed over the yard and the two men reluctantly pulled apart. Hand in hand they walked to the ranch house and a smiling Hayley.
"I'm falling in love with you, Eli," Robbie whispered.
Eli squeezed his hand.
He was already there.