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“Take me, cowboy,” she whispered, rocking her hips so the tip of him disappeared inside her.

That was all the permission he needed. He thrust deep inside her, looking for any way to satisfy the need that consumed him.

An hour and two orgasms later, Jill ran out of the house like it was on fire. She had a smile on her face, so if he was responsible for that, he could take the heat for making her a little late for her day, as well. To be honest, he had to rush a little, too. He’d told Ren to sleep in, but it was dangerously close to the time they were supposed to meet Bennett to have him show Ren the property.

While Bennett played uncle and Jill met with the CAF board and teachers who were going to join the program she was designing, Jax had to head up to Austin to finalize some of the job details. Even though it wasn’t how he’d imagined it would play out, this job was exactly what he was looking for. The damndest thing was, he wasn’t excited about it.

Not near as much as he should be for a major life change.

As he strolled up to the back deck of his single-story ranch-style home on the Marshall property, his chest throbbed. He rubbed at it, but the ache didn’t dissipate.

“Hey, Dad!” Ren called out from the deck.

The ache grew warm, almost hot to the touch. He couldn’t hold back the smile he felt every time he saw his son. He may have missed the past fifteen years, but he was going to make up for it now.

“Hey, Ren. How’d you sleep?”

Ren jumped over the porch railing. Oh, to be fifteen again.

“Great. That bed is awesome. Plus, I know it might sound stupid, but I kinda like the sounds the ranch makes. Like the cows and birds and stuff.”

Jax laughed. “You know I said the same thing when I was your age?”

“You did?” Ren grinned.

He seemed to like when Jax talked about their similarities, which was good. Jax liked finding them.

“Oh yeah. Bennett wussed out and got a white noise machine to cancel out the farm, but I liked the way it reminded me I was just a part of what was going on out there. That I might be a steward of the land, but I couldn’t do it without the chirps and moos and barking.”

Ren nodded enthusiastically. “Yes! Exactly. Uncle Bennett said I was crazy this morning, but I knew you’d get it.”

Okay, now the ache was a full-blown pain in his chest. Jax breathed in deeply, which calmed his racing heartbeat but didn’t do a damn thing to alleviate the pressure born of fifteen years of missing this. All he could do was appreciate that he had this time with his son, but loss still saturated everything. Maybe that would pass with time. Jax hoped so.

“Is your uncle around, then?”

“Yeah. He came to find you, but don’t worry, I covered for you.”

Jax frowned. “What do you mean?”

Ren’s smile usually was so much like Bennett’s, but in that precise moment, he caught the hint of his own mischief in his son’s grin.

“He wanted to know where you were, so I told him I saw you headed to the barn. You know, so he wouldn’t know you were—” Ren jutted his chin toward Jill’s lodging.

“Why would you lie for me?” Jax was one part touched and two parts concerned. Did he have the right to tell his son not to lie when he was keeping secrets of his own? “Also—and let me stress that this is far less important—how did you know where I was?”

Ren shrugged. Yep, that was all Jax’s biology. “I didn’t know if you told anyone about Jill or if you wanted some time to, you know, figure it out first. And about the second question, I’m fifteen, not blind, remember? You two are so obvious.”

Were they? Jax smiled, thinking of how she’d looked in her blue and white sundress. Okay, so maybe he was less than subtle.

Jax forced his brows into Bennett’s I’m disappointed in you look. That was the closest thing to a father figure Jax’d ever had, or at least a father figure he wanted to emulate.

“Thanks for thinking of me, Ren. But I should’ve been straight with you about where I’d be in case you needed anything. In the future I’ll figure that out.”

“It’s okay. I knew where to find you.”

“Still, it’s my job as your dad to be honest with you so you see that as an example. Our old man was a sonuvabitch most days, but he always told us the truth.”

Ren’s face went stoic, his lips passive, his eyes lined with something Jax couldn’t suss out. “My mom never told me anything.”