“It’s great.”

“And Carol?”

“She’s great,” he said immediately.

“So everything is great then,” Eden deadpanned.

Riley poked her in the side, and she jumped sideways.

“Everything is more than great.”

They made their way to the kitchen. Carol was at the sink washing breakfast dishes and humming along to a song that sounded suspiciously like Christmas music.

“Washing up dishes isn’t in your job description, you know,” Riley said.

She turned to face him with a smile on her face. “Dishes are therapeutic. Anyway, the twins are quiet and I finished a book, what else could I do?”

“Start another book?” Riley answered. He leaned on the sink next to her and peered out the kitchen window to see if he could spot Jack and Max. They were in the far end of the paddock, and he could see that Hatty was moving slightly faster than a walk with Jack quickening his pace to keep by her side.

“Max loves horses,” Riley commented. “Jack has this idea of opening the ranch up to have other kids here for the horses.”

“That’s an awesome idea,” Eden agreed. She leaned next to Riley and nudged his arm. “All you need now is to open up a mini oil exploration center for kids, and you’ll be set as a working ranch.”

Riley huffed. “Ha freaking ha.”

“You could even build a miniature oil platform,” Carol offered with a sideways smile.

“And everyone could wear those adorable yellow hats.” Eden was clearly getting into this.

“And every hour on the hour you could have the oil erupting, only it isn’t oil, it’s chocolate,” Carol added.

Riley shook his head. “Not going to happen, ladies. I will not create a chocolate oil well just so the two of you can stand under it and drink the stuff.”

“Damn,” Eden said teasingly without heat, “he saw right through us.”

Carol laughed. “Damn is right. Speaking of chocolate, I have coffee brewing and made cookies yesterday when you were out.”

“Where?” Riley said immediately. “I didn’t see any cookies.” He had told Jack he could smell cookies and had hunted for them in all the obvious hiding places. Riley admitted to anyone that he had developed a cookies-baked-by-Carol addiction in just the short week she’d been here.

“I put them in the cookie jar,” Carol said.

“But you never put them in the jar because you said…” He trailed off when he realized what he said. Bashfully, he bowed his head and tried to hold back the laugh.

“I put them in there because I knew you’ve found all my other hiding places. Plain sight is always a good place.”

Riley pretended to sulk for at least two minutes, until Carol took pity and sent him to his office with a plate of cookies and a coffee. He had reports to file that needed to be done by five pm, which meant Jack had time to spend with Max.

Unbidden, his own words rose up to bite him in the ass. Max loved horses, and that was his and Jack’s thing. What did Riley have to give to him? A chocolate oil well was not on his list of options. Maybe they could do something with Thomas. Get a layout or something. As soon as he’d filed his reports, he opened Google and searched for Thomas the Tank Engine.

There were sets for every age, babies, toddlers, Hayley’s age, then it skipped until there were die-cast Thomases that belonged in a collection somewhere. Max was five in November, should he buy the toddler stuff? The Thomas Max loved was plastic and sturdy, and that was part of the baby collection. Decision made, Riley placed one of everything into his basket and added loads of the plastic track. He had the idea in his head that he could find a flat space somewhere and maybe build a layout. They could probably add it to Max’s bedroom.

He paid for the basket and immediately rang William, their builder who had heard it all.

“Can we get an extension to Max’s room over the good room for a sensory room and train layout?” Riley asked immediately.

William went quiet for a little while. “I can fit that in,” he said. “I have a space in January.”

Riley swallowed. The poor guy had already fitted getting things done for the twins then Carol and Max at a fast pace.

“Any chance of having it done by November?”

“November?”

“The second.”

“The second of November.”

Riley could go elsewhere, but he liked William, and best of all he trusted him with everything here, him and his crew.

Finally he heard William chuckle. “I’ll add it to the work order,” he said. “What kind of extension?”

“One window with a permanent blind and soft lighting and a train layout with hills and flats. Max should be able to climb on the hills and it be smooth to touch, so it will be like a sensory room with Thomas trains and other things that are good for a child with autism, a peaceful place for him to have some quiet time.”

“Consider it done, Riley.”

“You and your crew, at Christmas I booked the Rusty Nail out, drinks and food on me as a thank you.”

“You pay me well; you don’t have to do that.”

Riley shook his head even though William couldn’t see him. “I do. I want to. The twentieth of December if that is okay? Check the date and book it as your Christmas event. Don’t tell the guys it’s from me.”

When the call was finished, Riley sat back in his seat and closed his eyes to imagine the finished room. He needed to do more research on sensory rooms and talk to Jack, but he would be doing something for Max, with Max, and that was important.

“You okay?” Jack’s voice broke into Riley’s thoughts, and he opened his eyes immediately.

“I’m good. I have this really cool idea for Max’s birthday.”

Jack crossed to him and kissed him firmly. “We’ll talk about it in bed. Cookies in the kitchen.”

Riley eyed his empty plate; somehow he’d already eaten five of the damn things. But he guessed he could find room for more. Patting his stomach, he looked up at Jack.

“Will you still love me when I get fat?”

Jack smirked. “Of course. That would be just before I put you on a diet,” he teased.

“For better or worse,” Riley reminded his husband.

“We never actually said that.”

“True.”

Riley snagged Jack around the waist and pulled him down awkwardly on his lap. He may well be a few inches taller than Jack, but there was nothing small about the cowboy in his arms. The chair creaked ominously, but Riley didn’t care. He kissed Jack until they had to break to breathe, then encouraged him to stand up. Jack grinned and touched his lips with his fingers.

“You taste of cookie. How many have you eaten already?”

“One,” Riley lied.

“More like five,” Eden said from the door. “Don’t let him fool you, Jack.”

Riley sent Eden an exaggerated openmouthed look of horror. “Traitor,” he gasped. Then he clutched his chest dramatically. “My own sister.”

“Max went in to see the twins with Carol, and I think he and the twins are waiting for some daddy hugs,” she prompted.

Riley thought he’d never heard anything said so perfectly in his life.

Chapter 13

Liam hesitated at the door for a good few minutes. The key to the door burned a hole in his pocket, and his meager belongings in the bag on his back were an unwelcome reminder of what he was bringing to the Double D.

“You can go in,” Eli prompted. Liam was startled at the words; he hadn’t even heard Eli come up the metal stairs. So much for being aware of his surroundings.

He stepped over the threshold and was immediately out of the daylight and into the dim interior of his new home. Eli didn’t follow, and Liam turned to face him expectantly.

“Can I come in?” Eli asked politely.

“Of course you can,” Liam answered in surprise. “It was your home.”

“And it’s yours now, your space, and no one comes in without an invite.”

“In case they’re vampires,” Robbie joked from behind Eli. He reached past and held out an envelope. Liam opened it and a welcome to your new home card fell into his hands along with a gift card for Target.