Texas Christmas

Texas series book 5

RJ Scott

Copyright 2013 by RJ Scott

First eBook publication: December 2013

Cover design - Meredith Russell

Edited - Erika Orrick

Proofreader – Stacia Hess

All Rights Reserved:

This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission. This book cannot be copied in any format, sold, or otherwise transferred from your computer to another through upload to a file sharing peer-to-peer program, for free or for a fee. Such action is illegal and in violation of Copyright Law.

All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

Dedication

To Erika Orrick for her editing skills, which make even this weird Brit look good. To Stacia who said I should put Het-boy back and who said this was her favorite.

To Meredith for her beautiful cover.

To Jackie McKenzie, for inspiring me to call Beth and Steve’s baby boy, Campbell Jay Murray. Jay for his uncles, Jack and Josh. Campbell for the family surname, Cam for short.

… and always for my family.

Trademarks

The author acknowledges the trademarked status and owners of the following wordmarks used in this story:

Starbucks: Starbucks Corporation

Thomas the Tank Engine: Gullane (Thomas) Limited

Nokia: Nokia Corporation

Stetson: John B. Stetson Company

Google: Google Inc.

Target: Target Brands, Inc.

Cap’nCrunch: The Quaker Oats Company

Tylenol: Johnson & Johnson

Jack Daniels: Jack Daniels Properties, Inc.

Barbie: Mattel, Inc.

G.I. Joe: Hasbro, Inc.

One Direction: 1D Media Limited

Twilight: Summit Entertainment, LLC

CW: Time Warner Entertainment Company, L.P.

Facebook: Facebook, Inc.

ER: Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

Ferrari: Ferrari S.p.A.

Hallmark: Hallmark Licensing, Inc.

Pringles: The Proctor & Gamble Company

iPad: Apple Inc.

Steri-Strip: 3M Company

Chapter 1

~September~

Liam Frazier listened from a short distance and wished the ground would swallow him up so that he wouldn’t be found out.

He sat with his knees drawn up to his chest not more than ten feet from Jack Campbell-Hayes. With only a stall wall between them, Liam was close enough to hear every word his boss said. He didn’t mean to eavesdrop—everyone should have been in bed by now and Liam thought he’d have the horse barn to himself.

Fuck.

He was going to be discovered and told to leave the D.

I knew I shouldn’t have bunked in with Hatty, I should have stayed in my own place.

Not that where he slept was exactly a place or even his own. He was camped out at the other end of the horses’ barn in a tent. Just after midnight, he’d woken restless from dreams and decided to check in on Hatty because she’d been a bit off all day. The horses were good to him; they let him sleep close by with no judgment. They didn’t care if he was gay or thin, he was just the guy who stroked and petted them.

“Can’t sleep?” a voice asked, and for a second Liam imagined it was he being asked. Then he realized it was Robbie’s voice, and he was in the barn talking to Jack.

“Too much on my mind,” Jack answered evenly. There was the noise of scuffing boots on wood, and Liam could imagine both his immediate boss and the owner of the D with their feet up on the lower rung of the stall, leaning over and looking at the horses. It would be Solo Cal, who had the stall two down from Hatty. “Fed the twins and Riley went back to sleep. I couldn’t get my head to quiet down.”

“Eli is restless. I thought I’d give him some space so he can settle, then go back in, given I’m up again in what—” Robbie paused, and Liam pictured him checking his watch in the soft, barely there lighting of the barn. “—five hours?”

“Eli okay?”

“Yeah, he just has nights when he’s not comfortable in his own skin.”

“But the last report says his cancer is still clear.”

“Thank God, yes. So, you’re up and prowling at one am, anything you want to talk about?” Robbie asked. “The horses? Or the D?”

Jack huffed a laugh, and Liam easily visualized the look on Jack’s face that accompanied it. Not that he’d been watching Jack much, but it seemed every expression Jack had, from anger to love, was so different to any other cowboy that Liam had ever met. He was so damn laidback and, hell, supportive. None of it was right, and Liam was waiting for the penny to drop and for the crap to start up again.

“Beth called to say she had back pains, and Steve is all about taking her straight to hospital.”

“Is she going in?”

“I think she wanted another night at home, but Steve got his way.”

“You need me to do the early morning with Liam? So you can go to the hospital?”

“Yeah, if you don’t mind.”

“Will do. You must be excited about being an uncle again.”

“I am, and worried about Beth. The usual.”

“What about Max? How’s that going.”

“Another delay, something about my and Riley’s marriage certificate this time and its validity outside of Canada.”

“That’s irrelevant though, I thought Riley was adopting solely?”

“He is.” Jack sighed heavily. “It’s as if any excuse this committee has to slow the whole thing down is being pulled out. Last week it was the twins being so little, before that was the fact we have no nanny, hell, a month ago it was shock that I didn’t have a degree. Jesus. Next it will be because I have blue eyes instead of green or some stupid shit like that.”

Liam winced at Jack’s obvious anger and frustration. He’d yet to see any signs of a temper in the owner of the Double D, but he knew there had to be a mean streak somewhere in the easygoing cowboy.

“I’m sorry, Jack. Can they actually do this to you and Riley? And to Max?”

“Seems they can. It’s a fucking nightmare. All we want is him here with us and we have all the right paperwork. Riley is calmer than me, says I should remember that Rebecca is a great mom and the family is the best place for him at the moment.”

“He’ll be just as happy here when he gets here.”

“Yeah, we’re spending tomorrow with him, but it isn’t enough, y’know?”

“You just want to get your family settled.”

Jack grunted in response, and then he changed the subject. Liam listened to Robbie’s quiet reply and agreed with him. Sometimes all a man wants in his life is peace, direction, and purpose. One day he, Liam Frazier from Dallas who liked horses and saw too much around him, would have purpose and peace.

“How’s Liam doing?” Jack asked in a quieter voice. Of course, Jack thought Liam was away at the end of the barn asleep; he didn’t know Liam could hear every word. Fuck. Shit. Balls. What if they talked about him and he heard? What happened when they saw he’d been there the whole time? There wasn’t space for him to get out of the stall and past two men who were angry with him. And Jack was a big guy, not as big as Riley, but he was built, and Robbie was no slouch either in the muscles department.

“He’s a good kid,” Robbie answered immediately. “A horse person to the core.”