Wagner grunts and shoots daggers at me, but before either one of us can say anything else, the fireworks show begins. Sammy starts jumping up and down, so I place my foot on the back of the chair to stabilize it, boxing him in just in case he gets too excited and trips.
Jackson nailed it with his observation that today has been a weird day.
I never expected to crash his family’s lunch, and I certainly didn’t foresee how nice it feels to be so warmly welcomed by everyone tonight. I got to spend some quality non-work timewith him. Clancy made sure everyone was having fun. Sammy stole the show, as usual, and everyone’s hearts. And it seems Pip wasn’t too put out being stuck with Sammy and my brother the whole night.
“Oh, wow. Wow! Wowwwww,” Sammy says on repeat for the next several minutes as the night sky fills with an impressive array of brightly-colored fireworks. Wagner looks at me, and we share a smile.
I glance over to where Jackson and Clancy are standing near the blanket we shared. Clancy has his arm draped over Jackson’s shoulder and is saying something into his ear. They’re having a special moment, too. Bursts of color dance across Jackson’s face, and man, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone so beautiful as he is right now.
There’s no doubt about it.
I don’t just like Jackson Hunter. Ireallylike him.
Who knows? Maybe tonight is a turning point. Maybe things with Jackson and I will enter a smoother, more peaceful era?
And the night is still young.
Maybe I’ll still get that kiss after all.
13
Maverick
“Out of everything I’ve done since I took over, this would be one of my proudest achievements.” I swing open the door to my private bathroom, and Ollie hobbles past me.
It’s a week after the Fourth of July, and Ollie has returned to deliver some bad news to Wagner. After thoroughly reviewing all of the investors’ offers, he found issues with each and every one of them, stipulations that he rightfully guessed Wagner wouldn’t agree to. Like relinquishing equity and control rights. So it looks like my brother is back to square one. The poor bastard.
Ollie lets out a low whistle, taking in the luxury oasis that is my office bathroom with a ceiling-mounted rainfall shower, quartz vanity, and sleek dark-gray marble tiles.
“Good place to jerk off in,” he observes dryly.
“Precisely why I did it,” I say, chuckling. “Best news is I got all of this for next to nothing.”
“How?”
“The bathroom supply store was closing down, so they were liquidating all their floor stock.”
“That’s awesome, man.”
Ollie ambles out of the bathroom. After getting way too many close-ups of his ass as I followed him up the stairs to get to my office, as well as watching him struggle as I gave him an abbreviated tour of the place—crutches and mud don’t mix well—an idea pops into my head.
“I’m going to need to make this place more accessible,” I say. “Seeing how hard it is for you to navigate around makes me realize how unfriendly it currently is to anyone who may have issues with mobility.”
“That sounds expensive.”
I follow him as he hobbles over to the window behind my desk. Perfect timing, too. It’s almost ten.
“Doesn’t matter. I’m adding it to the list.”
“How are you doing? Financially.”
Outside of our family, Ollie is the only person privy to the secret that our monetary situation isn’t as good as my parents have led the media to believe it is.
“So far, everything has come in on time and on budget. But then there are all the unexpected costs that keep popping up, like specialized feeds for malnourished horses, or corrective shoeing, or making the place wheelchair-friendly. It never ends. But I’m taking it one step at a time, scouring the internet for where I can get deals like the one I got on the bathroom and praying. Lots and lots of praying.”
We reach the window. “Well, if there’s anything I can do to help.”
“Thanks, buddy.” I pull him in for a careful side-hug as Jackson comes into view, leading Chips, a golden buckskin with a dark dorsal stripe, into the pen.
