Chapter Twenty-Five

JORDAN STRETCHED out in Russ’s bed like a cat, luxuriating in the aches and pains from a thorough night of fucking. Russ had already slipped out of bed before dawn, but he’d planted a kiss on Jordan’s forehead and murmured an “I love you” before he went, so Jordan didn’t mind so much.

A beep sounded from his phone, and he snagged it off the nightstand.

At airport. Headed to Key West with Britney. Will cont mission Pride when I get back. Mom’s melting. She misses you. Hugs.

Jordan’s chest tightened, and he set the phone aside. Gemma had decided to become his champion with the family since her visit. What that would accomplish exactly, he wasn’t sure, but he was grateful, if only because it meant she cared that much for him. The pain had finally faded a bit from those first weeks, but it was still there when he chose to prod it, like a sore tooth.

With a groan, he rolled to an upright position and swung his feet over the side of the bed. It was Saturday, Phyl was laid up, and someone had to get the place ready for the weekenders. He couldn’t wallow in the past all day. Thank God, Phyl hadn’t mentioned any scout troop or other groups coming in, because he really didn’t think he could handle it without her. Not yet anyway.

Despite the text and the busy day looming ahead, he had a spring in his step as he went to take a shower. It would take a lot more to get him down that day.

He loves me.

Russ would have to say it a few hundred more times before it sank in, but every time the thought ran through Jordan’s head it put a smile on his face and a shivery feeling in his stomach.

Fuck you, Dr. Perfect. He’s mine.

Jordan would kick the guy’s ass for putting the moves on his man if Izzy didn’t outweigh him by a good fifty pounds of solid muscle. He could probably crumple Jordan like a soda can, so a throw-down was not going to be in the cards. Jordan wasn’t that stupid.

Still, he wanted to.

After peeking in on a still-sleeping Phyl and seeing someone had already left water, some fruit, and a prescription bottle on her nightstand, he wandered to the kitchen for a cup of coffee. Russ had already started the pot, of course, and Jordan sighed into his first cup.

“Hey,” Russ said from the doorway.

“Hey,” Jordan replied with a giddy smile.

“I’ve just come in to check on Phyl again, see if she needs anything else.”

“I just checked on her. She’s still asleep.”

“Okay. I suppose you and me are gonna have to figure out something for breakfast.”

“I got mine,” Jordan responded, lifting his coffee cup, and Russ frowned.

Jordan rolled his eyes, sauntered over to Russ, and gave him a peck on the lips to ease that frown. “Okay. Okay. I know. You’ll pitch a fit if I don’t eat enough for a small army. After last night, I will admit to being a little hungry.”

Russ’s lips quirked, and he pulled Jordan close and kissed him again. “If that’s what it takes, I suppose I can rustle up a repeat any time you need it.”

Jordan shivered and pressed himself closer for a second before pushing away with a groan. “It’s Saturday,” he reminded them both. “You go check out Phyl’s calendar to see what’s on for today while I grab my tablet and watch some YouTube videos on how to make breakfast that won’t kill either of us or burn the house down.”

With a grin, Russ swatted him on the ass and headed for Phyl’s office. “Thank God,” Russ threw over his shoulder as he sauntered away. “I was afraid you were gonna make me cook breakfast.”

“God no. You’re the one who says he hates hospitals,” Jordan teased back.

At the stove, after replaying a few short videos three or four times, Jordan thought he might just be able to handle some scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast. He’d watched Phyl enough times, and it didn’t look that complicated. He might have burned a few things around the edges, but he blamed that on Russ, who kept coming up behind him and nibbling on his neck, distracting him.

He had to give it to Russ, though, the man choked down every last bit without complaint. And he didn’t even give Jordan shit for not eating the burned parts of his own food.

“Should we save some for Phyl?”

“Naw. We’ll have volunteers here most of the day, and I think Jon and Ernie plan to come in on their day off to check on her. If I know their wives, we’ll be knee-deep in casseroles before noon.”

Russ’s grin fell away as his phone buzzed, and Jordan’s stomach lurched. “Is it him?” Jordan asked.

“Yeah,” Russ sighed. “He texted me earlier this morning too.”

Forcing himself not to crane his neck so he could see the screen, Jordan said, “What does he want? Or is that a stupid question?”

Russ gave him a soft smile and took his hand. “He wants us to catch up over dinner, just the two of us.”

“And what did you say?”

“Not much yet. I wanted to talk to you first.”

“’Cause that’s what boyfriends do?”

Russ’s smile widened. “Yes. That’s what they do.” With a sigh, Russ held Jordan’s gaze. “I will need to see him face-to-face at some point. I don’t feel right sayin’ what I have to say over the phone. Are you okay with that?”

No.

“Sure.”

Russ’s eyebrows lifted, and he chuckled. “Sure?”

Rolling his eyes, Jordan got up from the table and carried his dishes to the sink. After rinsing them off and setting them in the dishwasher, he turned around and leaned back against the counter. “This adulting shit is hard. You know that, right?”

Russ brought his dishes over, set them on the counter, and took Jordan’s hands. “I know.”

“I really don’t want to be fair and let you see that man alone, but I know I shouldn’t stop you from what you feel is right either.”

“You trust me?”

“Yes… mostly.”

“I gave you my word, and I’m a man of my word, right?”

“Yes,” Jordan reluctantly agreed.

“It’s you and me now, not me and him. I just want to tell him that to his face, the right way. Me and him are done. I promise. We were done almost three years ago, when he left to follow his dreams…. You see, I’m a selfish man, deep down. I want the man I love to include me in those dreams. I want to be one of those dreams, not the one standing in the way of them.”

“Okay.” Jordan nodded and blew out a breath. “You are, you know… one of my dreams. I didn’t have any when I got here. I’d been so busy before, trying and failing to be someone I wasn’t, that I hadn’t taken any time to make dreams. But I have now. I love this ranch. I love the horses and the work we do. I love Phyl. I love you. This is what I want.”

Russ’s deep brown eyes got all soft and shiny as he pulled Jordan in closer. “Then we’re family now—you, me, Phyl, Jon and Ernie, the ranch, and all the animals we save. This is a family. If you tell me that’s enough for you, you’ll make me the happiest man in Texas.”

“It is.”

“And if it ain’t at some point, you’ll tell me, right?”

“Yes. But I don’t think I’ll ever dream of anything that doesn’t include you beside me.”

“That’s good enough for me.”

Jordan kissed him, long and sweet. He clung to Russ’s hard, wiry shoulders, wanting to wrap the man around him like a blanket and just wallow in him, but a throat clearing from the doorway and a set of tires on the gravel drive ended the moment.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Phyl said, and they both rushed to help her to the table while Russ scolded her for being out of bed. She shooed him away. “I’ll go back soon. I just heard doves cooing in my kitchen and figured I needed to check on things.”

Jordan flushed and Russ rolled his eyes. “Stubborn woman.”

She grinned as car doors slammed outside. “I’m gonna guess that’s the cavalry.”

Jon and Ernie came through the door, both carrying aluminum-foil-covered casserole dishes, and Russ threw Jordan a grin.

Watching the three men fuss over Phyl and her grumble and grouse at them while trying to hide her smile, Jordan couldn’t help but go a little doe-eyed.

“I can hear your gears turning from all the way over there,” Russ murmured as he set the casseroles on the counter and dished up a couple of plates for the guys and Phyl.

Jordan bit his lip and cast a quick sideways glance at Russ as he moved to help. “Russ, you know I’m still a mess, right? I mean, I’m working on it. I’m happy… ecstatic really, that you and Phyl want me as part of your family, but I’m still kind of a mess.”

“We all are sometimes. Nobody’s perfect. The B STAR’s here to help, if we’re willing to put the work in.” He grabbed the plates and threw a wink over his shoulder. “Besides, I told you I’d be the happiest man in Texas to call you my mess.”

Not quite sure whether he liked that, Jordan stood frozen at the stove frowning until Russ threw him another grin and said, “Come on, slowpoke. We got work to do.”