Read Texas Fall for Free Online Page B

to Jack but stopped dead
at the sight of his husband asleep in the chair with Lexie, tiny Lexie,
sprawled on his chest. Jack held her, and Riley was loath to wake either of
them up, but he knew Jack would thank him for it later. Carefully he peeled
Jack’s hand from Lexie and managed to move Lexie to her crib without her opening
her eyes. Jack, on the other hand, slowly woke and blinked before yawning
widely behind his hand.
    They left the room and
pulled the door shut, then waited until Carol had finished the story before Riley
hoisted Max into his arms and half danced out of the kitchen. Max liked that.
He giggled, and he held on tight. It was Jack’s job to gather up any random
Thomas toys and Max’s blankie.
    Together they encouraged
Max to brush his teeth, which had definitely been a work in progress up until
last week. Riley had lost count of the number of times he and Jack had brushed
their teeth alongside their son so he could see how easy it was. Riley’s
inspiration that perhaps Max didn’t like the taste or texture had them trying
out all kinds of brushes and pastes.
    Jack was the king of toothbrush-land,
though, when he bought a Thomas toothbrush. Problem solved in an instant.
    Max climbed into bed, and
Riley read him the tickle book, coupled with some physical tickling and
laughter, and then Jack and Riley left the room. Max didn’t sleep in the dark.
He had to have light, and Riley had long since bought special lights that cast
stars on the ceiling. The odd thing was with Max sleeping right in the quilt,
no one was quite sure why he needed the light on. But not a single person
argued.
    Finally it was Hayley’s
turn. She didn’t need a bedtime story, but she did need to be told to stop
reading and turn out her light. She devoured books as quickly as Jack ate
bacon.
    “Dad, Pappa? Can I ask you
a question?”
    Riley sat on the edge of
her bed. He always felt so big in her room against all the little things she
had like small cuddly kittens and tiny this and that.
    Jack leaned against the
doorjamb, since there was no room on the bed for two grown men and all those
stuffed toys.
    “Mary-Ann is having a
party for her birthday, and there will be boys. Can I go?” She was looking at
Riley because she knew as much as her other father did that Riley was the
pushover. She even did that whole melty-eyed look, and Riley was ready to do
anything she wanted. Thank God Jack was in the room as well.
    “How old are the boys?”
    “The same grade as us.”
She was so earnest. “From St. Edwards.”
    Riley frowned. St. Edwards
was the all-boys school that sat directly opposite the girls’ school Hayley
attended. They were kept separate for a reason; after all, he knew exactly what
teenage boys wanted because he’d been one. He’d been thwarted, though, in his
attempts to date at that age by having to have a series of tutors in a
homeschool environment. The Hayes Oil company had pissed off one too many
players and there had been an attempt on Jeff’s life, hence the tutors. Jack
interrupted Riley’s thoughts.
    “And the parents are
staying?” Jack asked.
    “Uh-huh,” she said. She
very deliberately placed her Kindle on her bedside table, which was something
she usually entered into great negotiations about, and lay down. “I’ll let you
both think about it.”
    Jack came over and pressed
a kiss to her forehead before leaving the room with a flurry of I love yous and good nights . Then it was Riley’s turn. He kissed her and ruffled her
hair, wondering if it was getting too long and whether they should be getting
it cut, then considered that Eden would be the one who would tell them if they
were fucking up something as simple as haircuts.
    “Love you, Daddy,” she
whispered in the dark once he turned off the light.
    And there it was, the
biggest weapon in her arsenal, the simple addition of – dy to Dad.
    “Love you, pumpkin.” He
pulled the door shut and walked into Jack, who hadn’t gone far.
    “She