* * * *

"Your daughter?"

Simple words, not spoken with anything other than an expected amount of shock. As far as Sandra had been concerned, she never thought she'd get grandchildren from him, and it seemed Jim was on the same wavelength.

"Hi," Hayley said softly, and Riley watched carefully as Jim, his Dad, sank to a crouch in front of her.

"Hello, Hayley."

Jim had been introduced as her granddad, Sandra as her grandmother, and she stood there and took it all in with a happy expression in her beautiful brown eyes. Jim held out his arms and pulled her in for a close hug, and she went willingly.

As far as Riley had been able to make out, Lexie's parents were no longer alive. This meant Jim and Sandra would be her first real contact with grandparents in at least a while. Riley observed the expressions flitting across his mom's face. Shock, disbelief and then an aching tenderness. She bent over from her waist—Sandra was not one to go to her knees—and extended the hug between Jim and Hayley to include her too.

Breakfast was lively, and it was a perfect start to the day. In deference to Hayley, he sat separate from Jack. He missed his husband's solid presence at his side. The adults listened to her lively chatter for the hour they ate and chatted and drank hot chocolate and coffee.

"Can I have a quick word, son?" Jim finally said. Riley looked quickly to Hayley, who was engrossed in talking about Glee with his mom and Donna. Jack caught his expression and inclined his head. Riley nodded back. Jack would keep an eye out for Hayley.

This was clearly going to be the lecture Jim didn't feel he could issue in front of Hayley. Following Jim out of the house and to the fence, Riley started to worry, but it seemed Jim was fixating on the technical aspects of the newest arrival to the ranch.

"I'm assuming you have someone looking at Hayley's paperwork?"

"She's mine," Riley instantly answered. What did Jim mean? Paperwork?

"I know, son, I don't doubt it for a single minute," Jim immediately responded. "What I mean is have you had a family lawyer dot the i's and cross the t's?"

"You're our family's lawyer, so I assumed you would do it."

"Someone else. Other than me. As the grandfather, it wouldn't be right."

"Not yet. Josh said he'd look it over—"

"Jack's brother is a criminal lawyer. Promise me you'll get an expert out here."

"Okay. I will. Thanks."

"That isn't what I wanted to talk to you about though."

Riley frowned. "It wasn't?" Surely Hayley's arrival was the most important thing for everyone to be concentrating on? Why was Jim going to broach another subject for him to think about? He already had an awkward discussion in his near future with his volatile husband about Donna and her younger lover. Why did people think he was capable of multitasking? Jeez, was Jim going to start talking love and sex with his mom? He didn't think he could handle that thought without the support of alcohol.

"Riley…" Jim paused. "Something at HayesOil from two thousand seven has come to light."

Dread flooded him at those simple words filled with such a heavy, ominous tone. But nothing compared to what Jim said next.

"It's missing paperwork, signed documents, proof of blackmail. It's about Jeff. Jeff and you…"

C

HAPTER

8

Jack sat patiently in the kitchen, perched on a stool, able to watch his husband with Jim. Riley's body language went from relaxed to tense to pissed and on to resigned in the space of ten minutes. Jack had intimate knowledge of every single one of those reactions, and he wondered what the hell Jim was throwing at him.

"So I'm thinking we should have a barbecue or something," Donna said.

"A celebration," Sandra said. "Would you like that, Hayley? You could meet your cousins, Luke and Annabelle." Sandra was animated with her excitement, but all Jack could do was groan as Riley's mom began to plan. Annabelle, fifteen and level headed, was fine, but her brother Luke? He was a twelve-year old chip off of Jeff's block. He'd thrown freaking big stones at Solo Cal in her stall, causing the horse to become distressed with no way to escape. The last thing Jack wanted was that hell spawn anywhere near his horses. Then, as soon as he'd thought it, he immediately felt guilt. Of course Luke's dad had died, his granddad as well, and his mom was working through chronic alcohol dependency. All of that probably played hell with his pre-teen hormones. Still, there was no excuse for what Jack had caught him doing to the horses last time they were here.

"Jack? What do you think? Should we have everyone over on Saturday? Get Josh and his kids and Beth and her family and Eden?"

"Whatever, Momma. It's your house," Jack offered distractedly. The kitchen was suddenly silent, and Jack blinked back to the here and now. What was wrong? Sandra had a look of disapproval on her face, and Donna looked close to tears. What had he said? In fact, Donna was up and out of the room, leaving Jack and Hayley exchanging looks of bemusement.

"What did I say?" Jack asked, and then shrugged.

"What is it with men?" Sandra said simply.

"What?" No really. What had he said?

"This hasn't been your mom's house since your dad died, Jack." Jack wondered who the hell his mother-in-law was to lecture him on his own mother. He didn't say that, of course. "It's always been yours," she continued.

"Sandra—"

"And now you have Hayley. A family. This ranch is a family home." Sandra sounded wistful and ran a hand across the solid wooden table marked by years of use. "She wants you to be a family. You and Riley and Hayley."

"It's a Campbell ranch."

"You aren't a Campbell anymore, Jack," Sandra interjected. Jack crossed his arms over his chest and stared down at the slip of a Hayes talking at him like she knew anything. "You're a Campbell-Hayes." Jack opened his mouth to talk but stopped when Hayley interrupted.

"Is that my new name? Hayley Campbell-Hayes?"

In a second any tension in the room dissolved. Hayley's expression was utterly innocent and devoid of guile.

"Yes, sweetheart," Riley said, and Jack looked over to his husband who stood at the backdoor. He looked shaken, worried, and pale even, despite his tanned skin. And a sure sign Riley was worried or upset? He wouldn't look Jack in the eyes. "If you want it to be."