No place could have been more perfect.

Their burgers were cold after they ordered, then spent too long talking. Their coffees were bitter, but none of that mattered. They sat opposite each other in a sticky booth, grinning like idiots. Robbie had left a message for Jack and was waiting for the answer. If it was a no, they would go back to the ranch and wait for the next time they could get away. If it was a yes, they’d go back, grab their IDs and after twelve hundred miles of driving, they could be married.

When the phone rang, Robbie answered it immediately.

“Everything okay with Eli?”

It was Riley and not Jack. Shit, Robbie hadn’t realized that if Riley heard the message on the house phone, he would think something was wrong.

“Riley, everything’s fine, I promise. Eli had the all-clear.”

“Can I talk to him?” Riley sounded suspicious.

Robbie handed Eli the phone with a smile. “Riley wants to know you’re okay.”

Eli took the phone. “Hey, Riley, everything is okay. … Yeah. … Robbie proposed. … Yeah, no shit, we’re eloping. … Going to Vegas. … Can Robbie have a week off?” Eli laughed at something Riley said. “Haven’t you seen the news? We’re going to be legal. … I know. …” Robbie wished he could hear what Riley was saying, but he had to settle for trying to work it out from Eli’s answers. “Yep, we’re coming back for our stuff. … Okay, see you in an hour.”

Eli ended the call and passed it back to Robbie.

“What did he say?”

“That he’d clear it with Jack, and that he never interfered with Jack’s cowboys before, and we’d better be happy because he’ll catch hell with Jack.”

Robbie narrowed his eyes. “You’re fucking with me.”

Eli grinned. “Yes, I am. Jack was there as well. He said we should take two weeks and get a honeymoon in.”

“Two weeks? I can’t—”

“And Riley said that Jack said that if you argue, I am to tie you up and dump you in the trunk of the car.”

Robbie chuckled. He leaned over to kiss Eli squarely on the lips. “Always knew Jack was the kinky one.”

Eli stood, collecting their trash on the tray. “Ready?”

Robbie added the empty coffee cup, already planning the route to Las Vegas in his head. “Let’s do this thing.”

Riley ended the call and sat back in his chair. “Well, shit,” he said.

“They could have got married in Vegas anytime,” Jack said. He’d happily agreed to Robbie and Eli going off to get married, but he couldn’t understand why the minute it was legal here the two men had decided Vegas was where it was at.

“In case they change their minds,” Riley said, answering the unspoken question from Jack. “We talked last week, and Robbie was saying that if it was agreed, he was worried they could take it back.”

“It’s SCOTUS,” Jack was confused. “They can’t go back on a decision.”

“He knows that, but he said….” Riley sighed and rested his chin on his steepled fingers, his elbows on the table.

“What?”

“That he wanted it fast so that for even one day, he was legally married to the man he loved, right here in Texas.”

“He didn’t want to wait and get married here, though?” Jack frowned.

“It doesn’t mean the same to him as it does to us,” Riley wasn’t sure how he was going to explain how he felt. “Until I met you…” he began, “…I didn’t feel for the ground we stand on. I didn’t care where I lived, only that I had money. Then you came into my life and I wanted this land, wanted permanent.”

“You’ve said that before.”

“And I mean it, Jack.”

They fell into silence, broken only by Hayley rushing by to get outside, something about riding and stuff. More likely she was hovering around the horses because Logan was here today having had this week off school for a revision break. Cory was here, and the two of them were working over at the school.

“Remember your—”

“Got it, Dad.”

Riley shook his head as the door slammed behind her. “So hard not to be on at her all the time,” he said.

“You’re doing well,” Jack teased.

“Anyway, back to Robbie and Eli.”

“I thought we’d done them.”

Riley raised a single eyebrow. “Nope. I want to talk weddings. So, what are we going to do? We should mark this. It’s important for us.”

“Have the big wedding in the public eye.”

“Yep. Also, I told Dad, if the vote was a yes, he should start the fight for joint adoption for Hayley, Max, and the twins.”

Jack’s eyes widened in surprise, then he smiled. “You did?”

“I want a wedding and a chance to have our kids officially, to the letter of the law, ours. I want it—the wedding—on the D. I want so many photos that you wouldn’t believe it, and I want to make this a big thing where we show everyone what can happen when two men fall in love.”

Jack shook his head slowly. “You’re a big sap, you know that.”

Riley stood from the table, rinsed their mugs, then leaned against the sink. “What do you think?”

Jack crossed to him and they kissed for the longest time, then, in a smooth move, Jack went to one knee. “My turn,” he said.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you proposed to me last time.”

“That wasn’t a proposal. I said if you didn’t marry me, I wouldn’t give money for Beth’s operation.”

“I think you actually said I should marry you for one year so you would use your money to buy help for Beth, pay off my mortgage and deal with any death duties."

“Well, that as well.”

“But under it all you meant that you loved me,” Jack deadpanned.

“Jack—”

“Shut up, Riley,” Jack said, firm and to the point. “Riley Nathaniel Campbell-Hayes, will you marry me, in Texas, all legal-like, and fight for joint adoption for the kids?”

Riley held out a hand and helped Jack to his feet. Cradling his husband’s face, he kissed him hard. “Yes,” he murmured against Jack’s soft lips, the scratch of stubble reminding him who he held in his arms. “A hundred times, yes.”

They listened to Obama’s speech and sat out on the porch. They hadn’t told anyone about their plans yet. They had one person they wanted to tell first—Hayley, who hadn’t come back from flirting with Logan.

“How long did your dad think it would take to get the adoption papers filed?”

“He said it isn’t the filing,” Riley admitted. “It’s the red tape nonsense that follows. We’ll get him out here to talk.”

“Sounds good.”

Riley caught sight of Hayley walking their way, Logan and Cory either side of her. She was chattering away, and both boys were paying attention. When they reached Riley and Jack, Logan and Cory split off toward the barns and the family’s horses. Riley leaned forward in his seat. “Can we talk?” he asked her.

Hayley perched herself on the porch side, her legs swinging. She looked so young sitting there, and she sported a broad grin.

“Did you hear the news?” Riley asked. “About the marriage vote.”

“No, but Darren was talking about it. The vote, that is. It’s good news.”

“I’ve asked Grandad to look into the legal side of getting things changed so it’s not only me as your dad, but your pappa officially adopting you too.” Riley held a breath wondering what Hayley would say. Riley was her father by blood, but Jack was Riley’s husband.

“I’d love that,” she said. She launched herself at Jack and hugged him tight. “Then you can be my pappa for really real, not just for real.”

Riley leaned in to be included in the hug, and the three of them held each other tight.

June 26, 2015, was damn important to the country, but it was vital for their family unit. Riley let out a breath.

Vital.

Unfortunately, when Jim visited that weekend, with Sandra at his side, the news wasn’t so good. Not that Riley had expected anything less in this fucked-up world.

Sandra had disappeared around the corner with the twins, the coffee was hot, and Riley was in a get-things-done kind of mood. “I want you to tell us about the procedure for adoption,” he said without preamble.