He was slow and thorough. It was a summer storm rolling through my body when I finally came. Then he pulled me close and held me there. This would have been a good time to tell him except it was late and I wasn’t ready to break the bubble of living my dream just yet. Instead, I settled in next to him and let sleep come.
* * *
The next morning, I found Wyatt and Alyssa in the kitchen making a mess, although she said it was pancakes. Peggy sat at the table with the paper, shaking her head and laughing at the two of them.
“Good morning.” I looked at my watch. It was just past seven. “It’s early so why do I feel like I slept in?”
“Ranch life starts before the sun,” Peggy said.
I went over to Wyatt and Alyssa, looking over their shoulders at the bowl of batter, most of which appeared to be splattered on the wall.
“Good morning.” Wyatt kissed me on the temple.
Alyssa giggled at that. “Focus, Wyatt.”
“Go away, Sinclair, you’re distracting me,” Wyatt said.
“Sorry.” I went over and sat with Peggy to watch the spectacle. Peggy’s eyes held emotion as she watched Wyatt with Alyssa. It reminded me that Wyatt wasn’t the only person missing out by my secret. She was too. And I supposed Alyssa as well.
I swallowed the bile that roiled in my belly as I realized I was deceiving everyone in this room. Everyone in my life, really, except Ryder.
I pushed it away and forced a smile as Wyatt and Alyssa brought over a platter of pancakes and bacon.
“Wyatt says I have to have a hearty breakfast to learn to ride,” Alyssa said as she stuffed her mouth with bacon.
I wasn’t sure pancakes constituted hearty, but I didn’t say that.
“Will you watch me ride, Mama?”
“Of course.”
“You can ride too,” Wyatt said. “I’ve got the perfect old nag just for you.”
“Oh, Wyatt,” Peggy said.
I quirked a brow. “Are you calling me an old nag?”
He grinned at me, looking happier than I thought I’d ever seen him before. “You’re my young beautiful wife.” He reached over and took my hand.
“What am I, Wyatt?” Alyssa asked.
“You’re my gal.” He took her hand too. The moment should have been perfect. Wyatt holding his family’s hands. But of course, it was bittersweet because he was still in the dark about Alyssa. I took in the moment, wanting to savor it. There was a chance that when I told him, his feelings for me would change, so this moment of a family having breakfast could be the only one we had.
27
Wyatt
When I was in the military, a few guys in my unit often said they’d never want to have a regular life; working in the same place, coming home to the same family, day after day. They felt having a wife, house and regular job would become boring. Me? This life I had now with Sinclair and Alyssa, it felt like fucking heaven, especially the part about coming home to a family.
After a week, we’d settled into a routine. Mom and I were up early as usual, taking care of farm duties. We left feeding the chickens to Alyssa now, who would get up just before Sinclair so she could get dressed and get her chore done. Sinclair would go to work, dropping Alyssa off at her grandmother’s house for the day. My mother offered to watch her, but she was an integral part in keeping the ranch going, so we decided it was better for Sinclair’s mom to watch her. Besides, they wanted to continue to be in her life as well.
And so it was, I was living the dream I’d planned with Sinclair all those years ago. The only hiccups were that I wasn’t sure Sinclair saw a future with me, and, in fact, there were times when I felt like she was keeping something from me. And of course, there was Stark to contend with.
But I was a patient man. I could wait for Sinclair to realise my love for her was real. My desire to be a father to Alyssa was genuine. I could stay positive that our dream we created ten years ago could be real.
It was midweek and I’d finished dealing with the cattle and paperwork and thought I’d take care of some home improvement issues before Sinclair and Alyssa got home. I wanted them to come home to a pretty picture of a house, so I decided it was time to clean up the front porch, fixing the loose boards, and give it a paint job. Maybe Alyssa and I could build planter boxes to hang on the rail and fill them with pretty bright flowers.
I’d just finished hammering a nail into one of the floorboards, when I heard a car pull up the driveway. Looking up from my work, an expensive sports car parked in front of the house. A man in a dark expensive suit, with a two-hundred-dollar haircut to his blond hair stepped out of the car. I didn’t need to be told his name to know who this was. It appeared I’d earned the honor of a visit from Simon Stark himself.
“Mr. Jones, I’m Simon Stark.” He smiled, showing off perfect white teeth. I wondered if there was anything on this man that wasn’t fake.
I stood and leaned against the post at the top of the porch steps, crossing my arms over my chest.
He gave me a smarmy smile. “I wonder if I might have a moment of your time.”
I nodded, but didn’t invite him in. I wasn’t going to sully my home with the likes of him. I was relieved that Sinclair and Alyssa were gone, and my mother was upstairs resting.
“What do you want?”
“Well, I’m thinking there’s a misunderstanding or perhaps my men haven’t
