“You want?” Riley asked and held out the headphones they took everywhere. Sometimes sensory overload had Max curling in a ball and rocking. Max ignored the question and stepped back from Riley. A few goes on a slide, awkward with holding Thomas and covering his ears, and Max finally took the headphones and allowed Riley to help him put them on.

“’Kay buddy,” Riley said softly. Then they bought drinks and sat at one of the outside tables. Max pushed Thomas on the table and he looked happy. Sometimes Riley panicked at what they were doing. Not at taking on Max, nothing would stop him and Jack from going through with this adoption, each man had a Max-shaped hole in their hearts. Just, he wanted it done, so that Max could settle in at the ranch and be part of their family for real. Even with all his money, he couldn’t make things happen any faster.

“Chocca,” Max said clearly. Riley realized he had drifted off into another world and mentally smacked himself upside the head. Max was sipping at the chocolate milkshake.

“You like?”

Max didn’t look directly at him, instead he peered at his Thomas closely and seemed to be ignoring Riley. Then he made a small noise. “Uh huh,” he said.

He was so little and sometimes Riley felt so big, too big, for the twins and Max. Hayley was a different matter, even at her young age she was getting tall, and she had so much confidence it was scary. But the twins were so helpless, and Max needed so much. There wasn’t so much a diagnosis for Max, but a suspicion based on the facts that they had. Autism. The spectrum. A speech and language disorder that had Max struggling to make sense of the world around him, of Riley’s world.

Max clambered down and crossed to the slide again. This time he left Thomas with Riley and climbed the small steps to the top. For a while he sat at the top and Riley relaxed in knowing that Max was safe, the slide wasn’t too high and earth was piled up around it to form a hill. Another group of boys were slowly working their way toward the slide, some older than Max, and they waited for a while for their turn but then grew impatient.

“You gotta go,” one of them demanded. Riley stood up, ready to go over to Max to help him or explain or anything other than sitting here doing fuck-all.

“Go on,” another boy said. Max didn’t look at either or react, but eventually he pushed himself down and slid off the end with calm precision. The boys behind shouted and jostled for position, and finally they all made it down the stairs, some backward, some falling onto the hill, but all laughing loudly.

Max stumbled back two steps, three, then with absolute determination, he crossed to Riley and held up his hands.

“Up,” he demanded.

Riley scooped the boy up in his arms but didn’t hold him too tight. Max didn’t show concern or fear, but this was also the first time he’d used the word up and asked to be held.

“Let’s go find Jack,” Riley said with a smile. Moving back through the dining part, then ducking back under the beams, he caught up with Jack.

“Is everything okay?” Rebecca asked when she saw Max in Riley’s hold.

“Yeah,” Riley said. “Let’s go home. It’s yucky here.”

“Icky,” Max said authoritatively.

Riley almost laughed out loud at the relieved expression on Jack’s face. When they were back at the car, he called him on it.

“You weren’t enjoying Billy’s Ball Pit?” he asked with a grin as he ensured Lexie’s car seat was securely strapped in.

“I couldn’t help it,” Jack explained.

“He got hit on twice,” Rebecca said with a laugh.

“Even sitting with the twins and a wedding ring and, hell, Rebecca as well.”

Jack shook his head miserably. “It’s like a cattle market in there. They should rename it Billy’s Hookup Pit.”

A group of moms with toddlers and babies stopped near them to chat and there was a lot of giggling. Riley could see them pointing, and Jack’s expression of fear was priceless. In a smooth move Riley cradled Jack’s face and kissed him. No one could fail to notice the awwwws from the moms, along with some disappointed groans. Didn’t matter, Jack was his, damn it, and no mom was battling her way to his side. Not while he was breathing.

“Icky,” Max said loudly. “Icky, icky.” Jack chuckled and Riley peered in the car. Max wasn’t looking at them and commenting on the kiss, he was peering closely at his Thomas and Riley knew what to do. He pulled out a baby wipe and gently cleaned Thomas of whatever was on there to upset Max.

At last, with everyone buckled in, they made their way to Rebecca’s house. They didn’t go in, something about taking the twins inside seemed wrong to Riley, and Jack always said the same thing. Problem was they had to say goodbye to Max.

“Are you still reading him his social story?” Jack asked Rebecca.

“Every morning and night. The whole thing.”

Riley wondered if using the piece of paper detailing in pictures what was happening in Max’s life was enough to make the transition from Rebecca’s house to the D easy. He didn’t imagine it did for one minute, but stick men and smiley faces telling Max he would be living at the place with the horses was at least paving the way. Riley leaned against the SUV and waved at Max, and his heart melted when Max waved back at him.

“You okay?” Jack asked, concerned.

“Yeah,” Riley lied. “No,” he sighed. “It gets harder to leave him every time.”

Jack put a hand on Riley’s arm and squeezed gently.

“Soon.”

Chapter 6

Liam pocketed his cell. Another freaking dinner invitation from Marcus. That made two today. He’d been expecting the text because he got them every day, and yet again he was regretting letting Marcus have his number. Not that he’d actually let him as such, more like Marcus had seen the phone on the side and casually taken the damn number.

Yesterday he’d almost said yes when Marcus asked him. Anything to get him to back off. They would go to dinner and Marcus would realize that apart from horses, there was very little conversation Liam could give him. Still, the freaking texts meant Liam was all twisted up. He hated them as much as he loved them. Part of him enjoyed the fact he was being chased, and he’d be a liar if he denied that. He’d never been the focus of attention in a good way before. But he wasn’t falling for that shit again. Hank may not have chased him in the literal sense, but he had teased Liam for a few days before getting his own way.

But the texts? They were how it went every single time Marcus found some excuse to visit the ranch. He arrived, came over, and flirted with him, and then after he’d left the idiot would send a text, then again the next day. Sometimes it was long, explaining why Liam should give in and go to dinner with him. Sometimes a joke. Other times it was one word. Tonight’s effort, you like Italian food?, was pretty poor, and Liam counted ten smiley faces and two kisses. The instant no he sent back was getting more and more difficult to type. Marcus was so gorgeous and confident and every one of Liam’s fantasies rolled into one pint-sized mix of sexy cute.

“Everything okay?” Robbie asked from the door. He led Solo into the barn and set about making the horse comfortable for the night.

“Yeah,” Liam answered by rote.

“I mean it, Liam, if you need to me to get Riley or Jack to talk to Marcus, I will.”

“What about?” Liam answered before realizing what Robbie meant. He was talking about Marcus’s visits and texts. Liam huffed a laugh. “No, he’s fine. I can handle one small guy.”

“Seems like he’s keen on you. Just let me know if he crosses any lines you’ve drawn in the dirt.”

Liam considered the words carefully. He knew all about lines being crossed. He’d drawn them in his head when he was down in Laredo at the Bar Five. Thing was, that line had been well and truly smashed by a man who wasn’t out for wooing him with dinner but just wanted him bent over the nearest fence. He felt himself wince and caught the sudden narrowing of Robbie’s eyes.