The Heart of Texas (24 page)

Chapter 51

Beth and Eden sat side by side in front of the mirror, Eden desperately trying to tame her long hair, and Beth trying to cover the bags under her eyes with concealer. Both were chatting and laughing and discovering things about their respective brothers that they knew would make awesome blackmail material at future family parties. It was natural, it was real, and it was a friendship that went way past family. Simply put, it was two women together, at ease, as they discussed being little sisters, Beth being pregnant, being scared and being happy. Steve did try to sit with them. He lasted ten seconds, blanched at the word tampon, and left the room to, in his words, "find some men".

Beth shifted in her chair, the smile slipping from her face momentarily as her back twinged horribly, sending sharp pains up and down her spine and into her legs. To add insult to injury, her daughter decided to join in, kicking her hard and pushing, as if to say "Down here. I'm down here."

"You okay, Beth?" Eden asked, frowning.

The pain in Beth's back had started at breakfast, and Eden had voiced her concerns as to how Beth was not only going to make it through their brothers' vow renewal ceremony but to her own wedding.

"Yeah," Beth finally said. "I phoned the doctor. She wants me in tomorrow, just to check. Says it's probably just the baby turning, sitting on a nerve." Beth smiled softly, resting a hand on her swollen belly. "Only four more weeks, and I get to meet her."

Eden placed a hand over Beth's, squeezing gently. "I can't wait," she said simply, and Beth looked into her friend's expressive eyes, knowing that her daughter's aunt was going to play a huge part in the baby's life. Feeling suddenly and overwhelmingly sentimental, she leaned as much as she could, ignoring the twinges in her back, to pull Eden in for a hug, which Eden returned with a similar affection. They pulled back, both blinking tears. Then just as easily turned back to the mirror and resumed their beauty ritual.

* * * *

Sandra accepted the coffee from Donna, sitting at the scarred kitchen table, her head spinning and her eyes wet from tears. Donna didn't know what to say, but she felt she should maybe say something, anything.

"Thank you, Donna, for taking in Riley and Eden," Sandra finally said. "They needed a home, and the D is a better home than they ever had with me."

"I don't want to hear that, Sandra. You aren't the kind of person who just thanks people for apparently giving your kids a better life than you did. That's bullshit." Sandra's eyes widened, as Donna continued. "You can play the fading southern rose card all you want, but know this, Sandra Hayes. You survived. You had things piled on you that no normal person could have endured, and out of all of that, Riley and Eden are kids you can be proud of."

"But—"

"No buts, Sandra, drink your coffee, swallow the southern genteel crap, and get some backbone. We've got candles to arrange."

* * * *

Jim hovered at the kitchen door, listening to Donna giving Sandra the sound advice the woman he loved needed to hear. He wondered if he could love Sandra any more than he had when he was younger. He wondered if he would ever tell her that he still loved her, that whatever happened, however many years had passed, he always would.

* * * *

Dusk was starting to draw the evening in, and the entire ranch was lit with the glow of the setting sun in hues of red and gold. Donna and Sandra had gone all out with the candles, creating a flickering backdrop for Riley and Jack, who stood by the paddock with the people in their life they loved standing around them.

It was Riley who wanted to speak first. The words he had in his head now were very different from those he'd planned the first time they were to renew their vows.

"Despite how this started," he began softly, "I want you to know that over the past few months, ever since you came to the Hayes Oil tower to see me, my heart hasn't really belonged to me anymore. We fought, and I resisted, we loved, and I resisted, but you didn't let me stay away. You opened your heart, your life, and offered your family to me, and I finally accepted." He swallowed, seeing the dusky colors reflected in Jack's eyes and seeing them suspiciously bright. "I promise you that you will
never
regret the gift you gave me. I swear it, Jack." He reached for Jack's hands, clasping them tight. "On our wedding day, I pledged many things to you and, said words that made little sense to me at the time. But today, the first day of the rest of our lives, here in front of our family, I want to make sure you know how much I love you. I, Riley Nathaniel Campbell-Hayes, love you, Jackson Robert Campbell-Hayes. I promise to love you more each day than I did the day before. "

Sighing deeply, hesitating only momentarily, he continued, "I read something somewhere, and your eyes, your beautiful changeable blue eyes, made me remember it. Someone once wrote this, and I hope I can remember this right. 'The world, for me, and all the world can hold, is circled in your arms; for me there lies, within the lights and shadows of your eyes, the only beauty that is never old'. I will trust you and respect you, laugh with you and cry with you, loving you faithfully through good times and bad, regardless of the seemingly incredible obstacles life puts in front of us. We will face it together. Jack, I love you, and I give you my hand, my heart, and my love. Forever."

Riley was lost in the words, meaning every syllable, aware of little more than the pressure of Jack's hands in his, of the smile that was on Jack's face, of each freckle he could see on his skin.

* * * *

It was Jack's turn to respond, and he drew every ounce of emotion from his heart. "When we said we would renew our vows, I had this whole speech prepared, but today I find myself just asking these two questions. How do I explain how I love my husband and how has our love changed since we exchanged our wedding vows? And I have a simple answer. I didn't love you when we exchanged our vows. I couldn't have. I'm sorry I lied to my momma, but that is the truth here and now. I didn't know you as anything other than the son of our family's nemesis. Just a name is all you were to me. So today I stand here, with new promises, learning from every single thing that has happened over the last few months, and from crisis to crisis, my love has grown. My new promise, and yet maybe not so new, is that I love you, and I will continue to hold you in my heart and my mind and love you for as many more years as God allows. I, Jackson Robert Campbell-Hayes, take you, Riley Nathaniel Campbell-Hayes, as my partner, loving what I know of you, and trusting what I do not yet know to be just as amazing."

He smiled. "I am so damn excited to have the chance to grow together, to get to know the man you will become, and fall in love with you a little more every day. Know this, Het-boy, I promise to love you always. I don't have the poetry in me to give to you, Riley, but I have the love for my family, my land and my horses, and I want to share every single part of it with the man I call husband. I love you, Riley."

There wasn't a dry eye as they moved to embrace, kissing away any doubts they had before they exchanged these new vows, to the applause and catcalls from their family. It was a moment not one person present would ever forget.

* * * *

Steve was dancing with Eden, and the party was in full swing, the Hayeses and Campbells laughing and reminiscing and crying and just forging simple bonds that would last many generations. It was odd really that it took so long to notice Beth was missing. After all, she'd been the center of attention for so long that for no one to see she wasn't in the tangled mess of noise and confusion would be something that would haunt him for the rest of his days.

He was suddenly aware that the drink Beth had gone for had taken at least ten minutes, and concerned, he went to find her. He grew more concerned when he couldn't find her in the kitchen. Maybe she'd gone to lie down in the bedroom? Eden caught his arm as he passed by. "Is Beth okay?" she asked.

"I think she's lying down; I'm going to go check on her."

So he did.

But she wasn't lying down; she was in the bathroom, and he pulled her into his arms, shouting for help… She looked so pale, so lost, her eyes closed, skin gray, and blood— blood everywhere. Steve lifted eyes filled with horror and disbelief, to Jack, to Josh, to Donna who had arrived to answer his shouts.

"Help us" was all he could say.

Chapter 52

Two weeks later

Jack continued rocking little Emily who was fast asleep in his arms, her tiny rosebud mouth slightly parted, her hands in fists as she slept the sleep of the innocent. Looking at her peaceful face, no one would ever guess how much drama had occurred before the cesarean that had brought her into the world. She was just beautiful, a miniature Elizabeth, eyes still the blue of a newborn but hair thick and dark and in curls around her face. She moved her lips in that all familiar sucking motion, half opening her eyes and then closing the lids again, sleep outweighing the need for food. She had been born at a good weight for a preemie, five pounds of mewling, squealing need that Jack cradled in his large hands because she was the most precious thing he'd ever held.

Steve had named her Emily Elizabeth, Beth had wanted Emily all along, he'd said as he cried tears of pride over his tiny daughter, and Riley had just hugged his friend close as Jack picked the baby from the bassinet and cooed over her delicate features.

"You are so loved," he whispered down at his niece, humming the words to a lullaby and continuing with the rhythmic rocking and singing as he protected her from the world. She tensed in her sleep, pulling her legs up to her stomach, and he lifted her gently, rubbing her back and resting her head on his neck, against his pulse, his chin resting on her soft curls, the baby smell so sweet and soft. He kept singing, low and soft, the rumbling in his chest soothing her as he massaged her back, and finally, she stilled again, so much so, he had to listen hard to make sure she was breathing.

She was dressed in pink. Everything was pink, from her sleep suits to tiny hair bows, from her bottles to the teddies that sat outside her crib. In fact, Jack thought he had never been surrounded by so much pink outside of Beth's room when she was little. He remembered holding Beth as he did Emily, being trusted by his mom and dad to hold his new sister and, feeling like he was the most important person in the world. It felt the same way still.

Riley had just left, to get coffee he said, but really Jack knew he wanted to find Steve. He worried about him and wanted to make sure he was okay. The suddenness of what had happened the day they renewed their vows had shocked everyone to the very core, and he knew Steve was being hit the hardest, blaming himself for not noticing Beth was ill, that things were going wrong. Everyone had said they too should have noticed, but Steve had excuses for them all, leaving only himself as the one person that should have been there for Beth at the moment it counted. Riley had been Jack's rock, silently supportive, silently loving him, organizing, helping, signing forms, handing over money like there was no tomorrow, buying the best at the drop of a hat, willing it to be enough.

It had been the longest two weeks of Jack's life, the only single point of light curled into his arms at this moment. They had christened her —just in case— but Emily Elizabeth Campbell-Murray was a fighter. Regardless of her early arrival, she was determined to live. Other than slight jaundice, she was well, healthy, and a good weight, with an exceptional set of lungs when the stubbornness of a Campbell broke through. Jack looked up at the clock; it had been an hour since Riley had left. He wondered if he'd found Steve yet, wondered even as the door opened gently and Riley let himself into the room, closing the door behind him and leaning back against it. He looked pale, shocked, and Jack felt grief twist inside him. He imagined his husband was going to tell him that Jack's beautiful sister would never regain consciousness despite fighting for so long and had finally died.

"Jack, she's awake." Riley's voice was broken, and Jack looked down at Emily, unable to speak, fat tears collecting in his eyes and choking his voice. He tightened his grip on Emily, feeling her murmur and snuffle against his skin.

"Let's go see your momma," he finally said, drawing a breath, trying to stop the tears, stumbling to stand with his niece in his hold. Riley was there, supporting him, pulling him into a quick hug then leading him to the door. They exited the nursery into the long white corridor, and to the left where Beth's room was, where she'd been since she had fallen into a coma when her baby was born. The room was quiet, Steve leaning over Beth. When he heard the door, he leaned back, a grin on his face, revealing Beth, so pale but so peaceful. Gently Jack handed Emily to Beth, watching as Steve helped her to hold her daughter and whispered soothing noises as she began to cry looking down on what she had created.

Beth looked up at Jack, to Steve, and then back down to her daughter. "Emily Elizabeth Campbell-Murray," she said softly. "Hello, little one."

Chapter 53

Sandra was pacing, and despite both Riley and Jim trying to calm her down, she kept walking from kitchen to hall and back. Finally she stopped as the realtor reached the bottom of the stairs. He shook hands with the couple that stood with him then waved them off to their car.

"And?" Sandra said simply.

"Seems like murder pays." The realtor smirked, stepping back at the look of irritation in the son's eyes. He looked at Sandra. "They want you to drop two mil, then it's a deal."

"Done," Sandra said without hesitation, leaning into Jim as he held her carefully. Riley nodded at the decision. Jim was glad Riley agreed. They didn't need the money, and they just wanted this symbol of what the Hayes family had stood for gone from their lives. Jim smiled inwardly, loving the feel of Sandra in his arms, tightening his grip, and feeling her relax into his firm hold.

"I'll stay with your mother," Jim offered. He knew Sandra had said she had some items to sort out at the house, and he knew Riley was eager to get back to Jack.

They watched the realtor leave, watched Riley leave with a final hug for his mom, and then they stood in the hall of the place that held so many bad memories. Sandra turned in Jim's arms and sighed. Jim sensed her hesitation and knew she was holding back.

"What's wrong?" he asked gently, knowing that she could reply with anything, from worrying about Eden to thinking of Riley, from remembering Jeff to losing her husband. What she finally said rocked him.

Very carefully, she touched his cheek, her eyes strong and clear and determined, and said, "Can you help me forget?"

It was a decision that was very easy to make, and he pulled her into his arms, the kiss between them as hot as the days he remembered. Maybe, just maybe, their son would have his parents together again.

Jim could only pray.

* * * *

The day of Beth and Steve's wedding was Texas hot and clear, the ceremony itself full of tears and laughter and the cry of a newborn needing attention. Beth looked as beautiful, and as stunning as a princess in ivory and lace. Steve looked ridiculously handsome in his dark suit, and the minister who guided the service was like a proud papa as he joined the two young people in marriage. Sandra and Jim held hands, a fact that wasn't missed by anyone, and Josh and Anna chose that day to announce Anna was pregnant again and another Campbell was to join the world in five months' time.

Jack watched the wedding with pride for his sister and pride in his husband as he stood smiling at Beth and Steve, so obviously in best friend "I did that" mode, it made Jack laugh. They danced and partied until the early hours of the next day, Beth half resting and half dancing, until finally everyone started to drift away to various rooms in the D, the beautiful old ranch house lit with a thousand white fairy lights.

He leaned back against the fence, looking at the house, imagining every person in each room, then turned to face the paddocks, empty of horses but fresh with the promise of a new day. He felt partly sad, partly happy, and he allowed the events of the last few months to drift through his head. From the contract to the vows, from Beth to Jeff to Gerald, to his own momma, who stood tall and happy as she saw her only daughter wed to the man she loved. It was heaven to stand here, with Texas stretching way into the distance and his land beneath his feet, and when Riley came up behind him, wrapping his long arms around Jack in a tight hold, it was a heaven that was complete.

"Hey, Mr Campbell… you okay?" Riley said softly, leaning to leave a small kiss on Jack's neck.

Jack turned in Riley's arms, raising his own hands to cup his face. "That's Campbell-Hayes to you, Het-boy," Jack returned with his customary smirk. "And yeah, I'm good."

"I love you, Jack."

"I love you, Riley."

"I got this idea," Riley said with a smirk, capturing Jack's lips in a heated searching kiss and then pulling back. Whatever idea he came up with it seemed Jack was on board if his eagerness to carry on kissing was anything to go by.

"Yeah?" Jack finally prompted.

"Wanna go find another bar fight?"

THE END