Page 106 of Beautiful Disaster

I take a shuddering breath and push aside the pain for now. I’ll figure it out later.

Chapter 30

Mason

“That fucking stubborn, self-sacrificial… Jesus, what the hell am I going to do with you, Jinx?” I mumble to myself as I read his text for the third time. Does he truly believe I’d just let him walk away, and we’d be done with each other without so much as a backward glance? He clearly texted me because he doesn’t want me to talk him out of it. I have no doubt he’s doing this because he loves me. His stupidity is coming from a good place.

I responded to him, but he left it unread.

In my irritation, I start hammering out a message in the community group about Jinx and me being together, that he wasn’t truthful to protect me, but I stop myself. It would essentially be calling him a liar, which could also affect their horse ranch business. What a fucking mess.

I re-read his post on Facebook two more times. He turned off the comments, but there were several posts about it. There’s blame for making accusations without facts, and there are stubborn holdouts who refuse to see Jinx’s side, saying he’s just covering his ass and mine. But mostly, people believe him. Even better, Mr. Bush has deleted his Facebook account as far as I can tell. Jinx did an amazing job making the man look bad. I hate to admit that his message worked, and using bigotry and his own experiences definitely pulled out denials and guilt from the community.

I log out of social media and open my email, specifically one message that was sent to me a couple of weeks ago. I ignored it, but now I’m reconsidering. It could be the answer to all my problems. The more I think about it, the more I like it. Then a real plan starts to take shape, and soon I’m seeing a clear way out. My original plan had been just to close the restaurants, but this is better. The only thing holding me back is Jinx.

I respond to the email, then I reach out to my former manager and chef to invite them back and explain why. I also mentioned that Jinx has fixed their problem and linked the post to the message, so they shouldn’t be harassed anymore. Then I offered my deepest apologies.

Max was quick to respond. He said he was grateful it was resolved, and he appreciated us taking care of the situation. He’s glad to return to work immediately, and he’ll make sure Lorenzo returns, too. Thank god.

With that out of the way, I quickly shower and get dressed. It’s time to get Jinx back. I’m not waiting for him to cool down and get used to a life without me. He’s mine, and he’s going to stay that way for as long as he’ll have me. Now, to get his head out of his ass.

I pull up the long driveway at Sugar-Sweet Ranch and park. Instead of going to the main house, I head toward the stables and up the stairs. I knock on the door, but there’s no answer.

“Dammit.”

I put my ear to the door, but the sense of emptiness on the other side is heavy.

After checking the horse stalls, I see his horse is gone. That can only mean one thing.

Feeling a bit deflated and frustrated, I head to the house and knock on the front door. The house erupts with barking. Aleks is quick to answer and greets me with a warm smile.

“Hey, Mason.”

“How are you, Aleks?”

“I’m good, thanks. Come on in.”

I walk inside as the dogs greet me, full of wagging tails and tongues. It’s chaos. I’ve never had a dog before, so I don’t pet them.

Aleks leads me to the kitchen, filled with the smell of melted cheese. Julien is bent over the oven, pulling out a casserole.

He takes the dogs out of the kitchen and locks the gate to keep them out, while Julien sets the casserole dish on the stove and smiles back at me. “What’s up, Mason?”

“Hello. So, how’s married life?” I ask them.

They both smile and wrap their arms around each other. “I feel complete, you know?” Julien says as Aleks nods in agreement.

“Yeah, I mean our relationship doesn’t feel different, but as my husband says, we feel complete.”

Julien kisses his husband’s cheek. “It’s been a long road for us both.” He waves a hand at the stool, so I sit. “You’re here for Jinx?”

“Yes, I’m assuming he’s out riding?”

Aleks pulls down some plates and grabs several forks. “He’s… frustrated. He likes to ride Waffle all the time, but especially when he’s not feeling right.”

“I figured.”

“Would you like some late lunch? I made homemade mac and cheese, Aleks’ favorite.”