Texas_Winter (2 page)

"What?" Jack was shocked, and that was an understatement. He wasn't sure what Riley had said was actually what he'd heard. Maybe he'd heard wrong?

"The calls. All of them. They were from Eden. The child's great aunt has been trying to contact me through her. Shit, Jack. There's a letter that says I'm the dad."

"When?" Words of one syllable seemed to fit the moment. A dad? Riley couldn't have fathered a kid since they'd married. Riley hadn't had time to cat around on him. No. He dismissed the instant reaction with an internal flush of shame. Riley wouldn't do that anyway. They loved each other.

"She's eight," Riley said much to Jack's relief and then slumped to the bed, his elbows resting on his knees and his head in his hands.

"College. The woman—girl—Lexie, she was in my business course. I remember the name."
Jack bit his tongue to follow this line of thought. Given what he knew of Riley's past, remembering a name in all of this was a good thing. Riley's time before his marriage had been one long party.
"So you have a letter. That doesn't prove anything. We'll get blood tests. Fight it if you need to."
Riley looked up at him, grim determination bracketing his mouth.
"I remember her," he said. "Lexie, I mean. She was just someone I hooked up with, but it lasted longer than most. For nearly three months. I liked her. Jeez, I even took her home for Easter, introduced her to my family, for what it was worth. She was normal, you know, not society, not a daughter of someone who thought a lot of themselves. Just a girl I sat next to in business studies." Riley frowned as he spoke. "She disappeared. Just up and left a few weeks after the break, left some note about moving colleges and thanks, but no thanks."
"She left you when she was pregnant then?"
"I don't know. Her note was brief."
"You didn't suspect she was pregnant?"
Riley shook his head. "No, and I was always so careful. Always."
"Not everything works one hundred percent of the time, Ri. You know that." Jack hadn't meant to say anything so bluntly, but he was trying his hardest to find the right thing to say.
"Shit," Riley said miserably.
"Look, she may be testing the waters to see how much money she can get from you, and getting a paternity test is easy. Worst-case scenario, if she's entitled to any of your money for child support, then it can be cleared up one way or the other out of court. Best case, it'll prove you're in the clear." Riley stared back at him with wide eyes. Laying out the extremes was something he felt Riley should hear. Jack expected him to agree, but what Riley said next rocked Jack to the core.
"She's not going to be fighting it." Riley closed his eyes. "She's dead Jack. That's why Eden called me. They were at the house. With Lexie's daughter. Her name is Hayley. Funny that. She'd be Hayley Hayes." Jack dropped to his knees between Riley's legs, looking up at him. The last part sounded like Riley was close to losing his cool. In his shock, all his words were staccato.
"Whatever this is, we can get through it." Unspoken was the "together" he'd left off at the end of the sentence.
"What if she's actually mine? What will I do?" Riley was looking to Jack for reassurance. For just the right words that would make this all seem okay. Jack's heart clenched and emotion choked his throat. Inside, he'd always known one day something from Riley's past would come back and kick them both to the curb. Something from his old HayesOil days, something in Jeff's death, anything but a freaking child born to an ex. Still, it didn't change how Jack felt, and his instant reaction was one of "we'll get through this".
"We," Jack offered simply. He emphasized the single word with a gentle poke to Riley's broad chest. "You mean what will
we
do?"
"I don't…" Riley began and then stopped, unable to meet Jack's gaze. Jack wasn't going to waste time wondering what space Riley was disappearing into. He needed cold hard facts to make decisions here. "I don't know what is going to happen here. I don't know anything. Eden just said I need to get home."
"Let's go." Jack injected as much encouragement into his voice as he could find, and leaving Riley sitting in numb and silent shock, he began to pack.

The HayesOil jet was stationary at the end of the island's runway. Jack couldn't help but remember another time he had walked to the jet with similar shock inside him. That time he had been on his way to an arranged marriage with a man who was blackmailing him. This time he was trying to filter everything dumped on Riley in a freaking phone call, and it wasn't easy. Riley was deadly quiet, and Jack didn't know what to say. His husband was lost in thought and looking more and more distressed as time passed. Jack didn't know what would be best to do, but he didn't want to lose Riley to memories. Jack was a man who made decisions on evidence, and a small part of him considered the matter something he couldn't concentrate on until they were aware of all the facts. They boarded in silence, Riley obviously deep in thought, and were in the air in ten minutes and on their way back home.

"Shit," Riley swore as he undid his belt and started pacing the stark interior of the jet. Jack removed his own belt and leaned forward in his seat. He waited. Riley had every right to get everything out of his system, and as much as Jack wanted to stop Riley from losing it, he stopped himself from interfering. Jack expected more swearing and blustering and was completely blown away when all Riley did was slump down in the seat opposite his and bury his head in his hands. "I'm really sorry." Riley's emotions were so close to the surface Jack could feel every single one of them.

Riley felt like he needed to keep saying sorry.
"Sorry," Riley instantly said, and then smiled
briefly at his reaction. "Okay, I won't do any more
apologizing," he added, and then he sat upright and stared
straight at Jack.
"How are you feeling?" Jack asked. Whether his husband would be able to vocalize how he was feeling was another matter altogether. Riley Campbell-Hayes was good
at the art of saying nothing and internalizing everything. "Pissed. Sad. Scared," Riley answered after a brief
pause. Well, a start, Jack thought. Riley appeared to have
most of the natural emotions after a shock in one hit. "We
need to talk." Riley leaned forward in the seat and looked
more serious and earnest than Jack had ever seen him. "I've
been thinking, just from the instant reaction of it all. It's
way more than you signed on for. If she's mine—if she's a
Hayes—or hell, even if she isn't mine, but she's alone? I
couldn't turn her away."
"I know you couldn't, Ri." Compassion filled Jack
as he saw the decisions flying across Riley's expression.
His husband could no more turn away a child than Jack
could.
"So what I wanted to say is…" Riley sighed, and
reached for Jack's hand, which he gripped tightly. "I won't
hold you to anything, and I would understand if you
decided an instant child—a daughter—was too much." The
words came out in a rush of emotion, and it took a few
seconds for Jack to filter through the meaning of what
Riley was saying. When he did finally understand what
Riley was saying, Jack didn't know what to feel first—
pissed that Riley thought Jack would back off or proud that Riley wasn't questioning this child's place somewhere in his own life. Pride won over, along with a healthy dose of
affection.
"Okay," Jack said carefully. He mimicked Riley's
stance and leaned forward. "Come closer so I can hit you
for being stupid. Do you think that would that help?" "Hit me?" Shock appeared to push through the
glassy-eyed sincerity Riley had been trying for. He glanced
down where Jack's hands were resting on the arms of the
seat and then back up at Jack. This time his expression held
uncertainty.
"I'm going to say this once," Jack said carefully.
"You are my husband, and what happens to you, happens to
me. Does that make it clear?"
Riley nodded. "It does. I'm just so tired."
"We haven't slept for a while. We're gonna need
clear heads back home so maybe we should try and get
some rest?"
"I don't think I can." Riley held himself stiffly as
Jack tugged on his hand and took him to the couch at the
back of the jet. It was dark and soft and incredibly
comfortable and dead opposite a huge flat screen TV. Jack
flicked to a music channel, and the two men sat side by
side. Within minutes, Riley was leaning in against Jack and
had closed his eyes in slumber.
Jack didn't join him in sleep for a while. His brain
was as full as it had been this morning. This time though
there was a fresh worry inside him and a new space for
contemplation. He hadn't been joking when he'd said he
could have smacked Riley for thinking he'd back away at
the first sign of trouble. He chalked it up to shock, though,
and thought little more on the matter. Instead, he
concentrated on the little girl who had been bought to
Dallas looking for a daddy. Children were something
dancing around the edges of his life plans. To maybe adopt
and to extend his family with Riley was one part of his
future. He just hadn't taken the thoughts any further,
including not mentioning them to Riley. Hayley may well
be a destined part of their family. It wouldn't be easy taking
on an eight-year-old whose momma had just died. She was
currently being taken care of by an aunt, and she had lost
her momma. Jack's heart ached for the little girl and her big
world of scary monsters.
Riley interrupted his thoughts by murmuring in his
sleep. Jack strained to listen but couldn't make out the
restless words. Compassion welled inside just because he
felt sure Riley's dreams were not good ones. Wondering
whether he should wake up his husband, he rested a hand
on Riley's arm, but instead of shaking his lover awake, he
smoothed a hand up and down over taut muscles in a rhythmic motion. He didn't stop until Riley turned closer and buried his face in the juncture of Jack's neck and shoulder. Shifting slightly, he allowed himself to sink lower in the sofa, Riley naturally curling into him and following the movement. Lulled by Riley's rhythmic breathing and the huff of each breath warm on his neck, it didn't take Jack long to chase him into sleep.

The plane touched down early evening and taxied to the private area at Love Field. Jack woke Riley, and together they were ready to disembark as soon as the door opened. The steps to the tarmac were steep, and Jack was so lost in thought he wasn't concentrating. He stumbled a few down from the top only stopping himself from tumbling to the ground by gripping Riley. They stopped. Jack because his heart was suddenly racing with adrenaline, and Riley because Jack had his arm in a grip so tight he knew there would be bruises.

"You okay?" Riley looked worried and glanced from Jack's hand to his face and back again. Jack didn't release the grip. Suddenly it hit him that, when their feet hit Texas soil, nothing would ever be the same again. Whether they were dads to Hayley or not, a very different path had been chosen for them. They were no longer just a couple. He needed to tell Riley everything spinning in his head. Things like his husband shouldn't worry about what was happening. Or Jack would stay with him whatever happened, and he was excited at the idea of meeting a littlegirl version of Riley. He raised a free hand and traced Riley's angular face, settling the fingers into his short blond hair and staring deep into hazel eyes that looked greener today. Love and lust and need clutched at him, and he wondered, not for the first time, if he would ever get enough of this man.

"I love you," he offered gently. Riley's concerned expression relaxed at the simple words, and he smiled. They met in the middle and sealed the private moment with a gentle kiss before Jack released Riley's arm and they continued down to the black strip. Their luggage sat in a small pile, and each picked up a large bag and a case. There really was nothing Riley or Jack could do about Hayley until morning, and home was where they needed to be right at this moment. They passed through customs, and Eden was waiting in the private parking for the VIP landing zone, and with little ceremony, the two men placed their bags in the trunk. Riley pulled his sister close for a sibling hug, and they held each other for a long time. Jack was relieved he did this rather than launch into a thousand and one questions. However, it all changed as soon as Riley climbed into the shotgun seat, confining Jack to the back seat.

Jack noticed the correction and met Riley's gaze in the mirror with an encouraging smile.
"It started two days ago. I tried not to phone you before I needed to," she began as she pulled out of the main gate and headed east. "We had a visit from this woman in her seventies, toting along a little girl. Said she was a great aunt to the girl's mother, a woman called Lexie Samuels, and she was looking for Riley Nathaniel Hayes. She had a letter that she was given to her by her niece, naming you as the father of a child, and a whole bundle of paperwork. She said she was coming back tomorrow at nine, and there needed to be something in place for the child. Then she said, right in front of the little girl, she needed a placement fast as the mom had just died."
"What kind of person does that?" Jack commented.
"She seemed distraught. I'm not sure she was thinking."
"Still, does she even have a freaking heart?"
"She was exhausted, and she looked ill. She'd tracked you to the Hayes house. The new owners said we'd gone and sent her to the D. Donna called me, and I got there as soon as I could. We asked them to stay."
"At the D?" Jack asked.
"Yeah, but she said no. Said Hayley wasn't staying until she'd spoken to Riley."
"So what happened? Did she take the child somewhere else? To a hotel? Is she okay? Do you know where they went?" Riley's questions tumbled haphazardly out of him. Eden held up a hand to still her brother. She could stop him talking with that single action as effectively as Jack could with two ropes and a jar of lube.
"They went to the Oak. They'd been dropped off at the D by cab, so I drove them to the motel."
"Do you think she's mine?"
"Hell, Riley, there's no doubt she's yours. She looks just like me when I was her age. She has our hair, our eyes. I don't for one minute think she is anyone else's
but
yours." They reached the outskirts of Dallas, heading for open country, and she put her foot down as they moved onto clearer roads.
"Lexie was my girlfriend," Riley said wistfully. "Eden, do you remember I brought her home?" Eden shook her head and punctuated the action with a huge sigh.
"To be honest, Ri, I don't remember her, but I'm surprised this hasn't happened before. Considering the amount of girls you went through then and since, you're lucky you're not the father of twelve." Eden wasn't laughing. She was actually deadly serious, and Riley didn't rise to the sibling censure, but it still made Jack wince.
"Has the press gotten involved yet?" Jack was just being pragmatic. It was Riley and Eden's reality. The press followed the Hayes family like vultures.
"Not so far. She didn't mention taking the story to the press, and there was no threat in her visit. She was just resigned. But we should think about keeping it quiet. Whatever the outcome." Eden's voice was firm. Jack wanted to defuse the tension in the car, but mostly he wanted to see the soft-hearted side of Eden rather than this practical side of her.
"Eden, can you tell us about her?"
Eden was quick to answer, and this time she had affection in her voice. "Small. Itty-bitty girl with blond hair to her waist and huge brown eyes. Very quiet. She didn't say anything, just looked at me and the ranch and the horses and then hid her face."
"I don't understand. Why'd the aunt bring her to the D? Poor kid just lost her momma." Jack made the question sound more like an observation and qualified it with his reasoning. "Surely she could have waited to make sure Riley was there."
"Apparently the girl asked her aunt to find your family quickly."
"She asked her that?" Riley looked sharply at his sister.
"Wanted to meet her daddy she said."
And with that statement Jack knew it wouldn't matter if Hayley had Hayes blood or not. She was theirs.
They were going to be daddies.
* * * *