Free The Heart of Texas by R. J. Scott

the front door, and he followed it with his eyes as it headed down the avenue. He sighed, but then thought that actually, just maybe, breakfast would be easier without them.
    "This morning, my mother and possibly Lisa, Jeff's wife. Maybe Eden, my sister. There's kind of this breakfast thing we do. Normally I'm down with my dad and brother, but they just left." Riley turned back to the window, watching the dust swirling in the wake of the limo, his fingers unconsciously touching the glass.
    * * * *
    The knot of tension in Jack eased slightly. He knew Jeff only by reputation and from watching various TV interviews, and would have thought he was an arrogant asshole even if he wasn't a Hayes. And as for the Hayes patriarch, well, Gerald hated the name of Campbell, had done so since way before Jack had been born. Worse, the man had basically treated his mom like shit at Alan Campbell's funeral. So, yeah, no love lost there either. Jack couldn't understand where the whole we hate the Campbells crap was coming from. Life was too freaking hard and too freaking short to hold on to grudges.
    "So tell me about them and where they stand on the Campbell Hate Scale," Jack prompted. He frowned as Riley momentarily slumped before pulling himself straight and turning back to Jack.
    "The Campbell Hate Scale?" he asked cautiously, but Jack didn't answer. "Well, my mother is kind of…" He paused, looking Jack directly in the eyes. "It's not easy to describe her. I mean her family is old money, goes back generations. She has what she likes to call breeding, and what I like to term snobbery. She's difficult, and she won't like what I've done. She's had me half-married off to various Texas debutantes over the years. She doesn't ever mention your family, leaves that to my father and Jeff, who seem to spend an awful lot of time discussing you, come to think of it. And I don't totally know why. Do you?"
    "Hell, no," Jack snorted. "I have no idea why your dad and brother have such a problem with the Campbells. God knows we're no competition for you guys. Shit, we're not even in the same line of business anymore, and that fucking court case was years ago."
    It must have been obvious to Riley that Jack was about to start on a rant, because he quickly carried on. "Lisa and Jeff have been married about ten years, and I have a nephew and a niece, both of whom have a full-time nanny. Neither of the kids will be at breakfast," Riley added with a small hint of disappointment in his voice that Jack honed in on immediately.
    "That's a shame. I'd a liked to have met them," Jack said, watching as Riley frowned, apparently surprised at his sincerity,
    "Then there's Eden," Riley continued, and paused. "She's probably the only good thing my parents did. I mean, she's a complete airhead, thinks shopping defines her life, but she has a big heart. I kinda keep my eye on her when I can."
    Jack nodded. He knew firsthand what it was to worry for a little sister. The openly affectionate words Riley used to describe his sister, his niece, his nephew, seemed somehow wrong. It jarred with every impression Jack had formed of the Hayes family. Still, that didn't mean Riley's heart wasn't dead inside him. What man, with a sister of his own, would use Beth's health as a bargaining chip in a fake marriage?
    Riley left him to his thoughts, taking clothes into the large bathroom, and exiting fifteen minutes later. Jack came back to the here and now and gave his husband a reluctantly appreciative once-over. Riley was wearing similar clothes as he had on the flight, dark jeans and a dark shirt that pointed up his powerful frame. His blond hair was still damp and pushed off his face, emphasizing his angular cheekbones and eyes in an intriguing combination of greens and browns. He really was a ridiculously good-looking man.
    "All yours," Riley offered, crossing to a large walk-in closet and pulling out a black leather belt. He was keeping his head down, avoiding Jack's eyes.
    "Thanks."