Cowboy Come Home

by Carly Bloom

“Oh stop. Worth is a sweetie,” she said. “She’s a lucky girl.”

  Oh yeah. All the women who married Jarvis men were “lucky girls.”

  “I sure hope so. She’ll need all the luck she can get.”

  “Why is that?”

  “Because…”

  What could he say that wouldn’t make Claire break out in laughter? Or run for the hills? He couldn’t dare bring up the Jarvis curse. He was no idiot. He knew how bad it sounded. How dumb.

  And yet…

  The curse is bullshit. And I think you know it.

  Was Worth right? Could it be as easy as just calling bullshit?

  The song ended and he squeezed Claire tighter. He hadn’t come here to dance, but if that’s what would keep her body up against his, he’d do it all night.

  Suddenly, he wanted to risk it. He wanted to tell her everything. About why he’d left the last time and how he never wanted to leave again. What would she say? What would she do? Did her feelings for him go beyond the physical? Ford felt like they did, but what if he was wrong?

  It was hard to know, but maybe—

  “Oh my gosh. Look!”

  Ford lifted his head. “What?”

  “JD is here.”

  Ford had only met JD Mayes a couple of times. Nice enough guy.

  “Let’s go say hi,” Claire said. “Something’s been bothering him.”

  Ford’s body ached the minute Claire let go. He reluctantly followed her to the bar, where JD stood with his business partner, Bubba Larson. Whatever had been making JD out of sorts didn’t seem to be a problem now. His eyes lit up at the sight of Claire.

  Didn’t everybody’s?

  “Claire!” he said. “I’m glad you’re here! I was hoping to get everybody together.”

  “Everybody?”

  “Maggie is on her way,” JD said.

  “Really? Because she had a pregnant lady date with a recliner the last time I talked to her.”

  “I told her it was a special occasion. She’s bringing Travis.”

  JD’s eyes were lit up like firecrackers. The man was seriously excited about something.

  “Hey, Ford. Nice to see you again,” JD said, holding out his hand. “I heard you were back in town.”

  Ford grasped his hand. “Nice to see you again, too.”

  “You’re killing me,” Claire said to JD. “Do we really have to wait for Maggie to get here before you’ll spill the beans?”

  “And Gabriel,” JD said. “Until he gets here, I can’t say a word.”

  Claire spun around to Bubba. “You can’t keep a secret to save your soul. Spill it.”

  Bubba shrugged. “I don’t know what he’s talking about. He’s been having mood swings. I think he needs to see a doctor.”

  “I am not having mood swings.”

  “There’s medicine for it. I’ve seen it on TV.”

  “Shup up, Bubba,” JD said.

  “See?” Bubba said. “Mood swings.”

  JD sighed, but his bright smile popped right back up. “It sure is crowded tonight.”

  “We have a table,” Claire said. “I think we can squeeze enough chairs around it.”

  They wove through the crowd to find that Maggie and Travis had already arrived and were seated with Worth and Alice.

  “When did you get here?” Claire asked.

  “Just now, and I’m not happy about it,” Maggie said. Then she shifted her eyes to JD. “You’d better hurry up and tell me what all this fuss is about.”

  “Can’t tell you yet,” JD said. “Waiting for Gabriel.”

  Maggie rolled her eyes. “Fine. But somebody’s going to get me some fried mushrooms while I wait.”

  “That would be me,” Travis said, kissing Maggie on the nose. Then he whispered something in her ear that made her blush.

  Worth stood up and offered a hand to JD. “Hi. I’m Worth.”

  “Nice to meet you. I’m JD, and this is Bubba.”

  “We’re business partners and that’s it,” Bubba said, shaking Worth’s hand. “I have a wife, but she’s visiting her sister in Round Rock.”

  JD gave Bubba a stinky side-eye. “Believe me, Bubba. Nobody was wondering.”

  “This is my baby brother,” Ford said, motioning to Worth.

  “Baby brother?” JD asked. He furrowed his brow, as if he’d heard something familiar. “And your last name is Jarvis?”

  “Yep,” Worth said, grinning.

  “Holy cow. Is your daddy Johnny Appleseed Jarvis? The bull rider? And you ride broncs?”

  “Yep.”

  “You’re Baby Jarvis.”

  “I’m retiring. I’ve got one rodeo left in Fort Worth in a few weeks.”

  “Hot damn!” JD said.

  “Here we go,” Bubba sighed.

  “I team rope,” JD said to Worth. “I’m an amateur. And it’s just roping…”

  “Roping takes a shit-ton of skill,” Worth said. “Nothing but respect, man.”

  “My roping partner is Casey Long. He used to be a bull rider. He couldn’t come tonight because he’s working. And anyway, now that he’s the sheriff he’s no fun in honky-tonks.” JD was nervously rambling. He turned to Ford. “Does Casey know your dad is Johnny Appleseed Jarvis?”

  Ford grimaced. “I don’t really brag about it.”

  “The closest I come to rodeoing is when I’m the horse and my kids are the bronc riders,” Bubba said. “I don’t really get out much.”

  “He’s got four little girls,” JD said.

  “I just look at Trista and she gets pregnant.”

  JD shook his head. “That’s not how it works, and now I know why you seem surprised each time.”

  A tall man in a suit tapped JD on the shoulder. He was the only guy in the place not wearing jeans, but with a smile a mile wide and dimples in both cheeks, he looked perfectly at ease.

  “Hey, Gabe,” JD said, standing up. “How was work?”

  The two men hugged briefly. “Better after I got that phone call.”

  “I bet.”

  The two stood there grinning at each other and bouncing on their heels like they might explode. But then Gabriel noticed Worth and Ford. “Hello,” he said. “I’m JD’s husband, Gabriel Castro.”

  Worth said his howdy, and then Ford did the same as Gabriel sat in the chair Bubba scrounged up for him. Then everybody stared. Waiting. Because Travis wasn’t back with Maggie’s mushrooms.

  Beneath the table, Claire grabbed Ford’s hand and squeezed. The suspense was clearly getting to her, and Ford squeezed her hand back. He didn’t know these people, but for some reason, he was buzzing with excitement, too.

  After a few moments, Travis finally made it back to the table with two trays of fried mushrooms and a tub of gravy. Everybody immediately dug in, including Ford, and shit! They were steaming hot. He looked up to see seven people fanning their open mouths, just like him. Gabriel and JD sat, stoic, waiting for everyone to recover.

  Maggie spit her mushroom into a cocktail napkin and took a gigantic sip of water. Then she wiped her mouth and said, “Sorry, guys. Why don’t you tell us your news while we wait for these to cool off?”

  “Are you sure?” JD asked.

  “Yes,” Maggie said while everyone nodded in agreement.

  JD leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “Because if y’all want to set yourselves on fire or do the ice bucket challenge or maybe take up hula dancing, we can just sit here and wait patiently to share the biggest news of our lives.”

  Bubba reached for another mushroom and Claire swatted his hand away.

  “We’re ready,” she said. “You have our undivided attention.”

  The mushrooms still seemed to have Bubba’s undivided attention, but at least he was being still and quiet.

  JD and Gabriel took a giant breath in unison, looked at each other, and blurted, “We’re going to be dads!”

  Chapter Twenty

  Everyone at the table was silent for about three seconds, and then they all s
tarted blabbing at once. Claire was out of her chair and practically in JD’s lap. She was laughing, but she was also crying, and mascara ran down her cheeks. Even Maggie was dabbing at her eyes.

  Bubba sat quietly for a moment, and then his eyes widened and he shouted, “It’s a medical miracle!” before pounding JD frantically on the back. “No wonder you’ve been so moody! Trista is always moody when she’s—”

  “You realize neither one of us is pregnant, right?” JD said. “Believe me, Bubba, medicine has not advanced to that level.”

  Bubba nodded, but his big cheeks turned bright pink. “Of course, I knew that.”

  “We’re adopting,” Gabe said. “And it’s been a rocky couple of months. We’ve had some bumps in the road, and this morning we got bad news about a child we were hoping for. But then, just this afternoon, we got the news we’ve been wanting. A birth mother has chosen us to be the adoptive parents of her baby.”

  “Oh,” Bubba said, turning even more red. “Does that mean one of you has to…you know.”

  Gabriel’s eyes widened, but JD just laughed.

  “No, Bubba,” Maggie said. “They’re adopting. The woman is either already pregnant or she’s already had the baby.”

  “Well, I bet that’s a relief,” Bubba said. “For everybody.”

  Gabriel somehow managed to keep a straight face. “She’s pregnant. Second trimester.”

  Maggie reached across the table and took JD’s hands in hers. “You realize our kids are going to be born around the same time, right?”

  JD nodded. “They’re going to get into all kinds of trouble together. Just like we did.”

  Damn. These people knew each other. Like really knew each other. The only people Ford was close to were family members, and heck, he wasn’t even close to all of them. What was it like to make your own family? To share a history with an entire town?

  “I’m a little worried,” Maggie said. “What if we both get what we deserve? Just like our mamas always warned us?”

  Gabriel laughed. “Let’s hope that doesn’t happen, because I haven’t done anything to deserve it.”

  “How about a round of drinks?” JD asked.

  “Yes!” said Claire. “We’ve got Worth’s engagement and a Mayes-Castro baby on the way. So much to celebrate!”

  “We’re buying,” JD said, standing.

  “No way, man,” Bubba replied. “Let me get it.”

  Gabriel pushed his chair back. “It’s our night. We get to do what we want. And we’re buying a round!”

  Everyone applauded as he and JD walked off to the bar.

  Ford couldn’t help it. He felt light. Happy. Almost carefree. Things worked out for some people. A lot of people, actually. Why couldn’t they work out for him and Worth?

  The curse.

  He shook his head to get rid of that nonsensical thought. Worth was right. The curse was bullshit.

  Bubba suddenly stood up, scraping his chair loudly across the floor.

  Something was wrong.

  Bubba glared in the direction of the bar. Ford glanced over and spotted Kit, sitting on a barstool with a dumbass cocky grin on his face. He was staring right at JD, and JD was staring back with his fists clenched.

  What the fuck had Kit said?

  Gabriel set a hand on JD’s shoulder, but JD shook him off. Gabriel might be coolheaded, but Ford would bet his uncle that JD didn’t back away from a fight.

  JD’s jaw was clenched and his right hand was already balled up into a fist. The man looked like he could pack a good punch, and if Kit weren’t so drunk, surely he’d see it. But instead of standing up and apologizing for whatever stupid remark he’d vomited, Kit gave JD a little push. The two guys from the Kelsey Ranch snickered and stood.

  Everything happened in a flash. Gabriel grabbed JD by the shoulders and tried to pull him away, and Bubba shot across the room like a rocket. Ford was impressed at the speed with which the large man moved. Hopefully, Bubba would get there in time to put a stop to things. A man of his size would surely—

  Bubba threw the first punch.

  “Oh, dear!” Alice said.

  “Ladies, let me escort you outside,” Ford said.

  “Oh, hell no,” Claire said. “We’re staying.”

  Maggie nodded, and Travis sighed in exasperation.

  Kit punched back. Bubba easily ducked it. Unfortunately, JD was standing directly behind him, and Kit’s fist connected solidly with JD’s cheek. Worth hopped up with a stupid grin on his face and ran straight to the train wreck. First night in town and the idiot was going to get a shiner.

  Gabriel, proving to be less coolheaded than Ford had thought, politely removed his suit jacket before taking a flying leap at Kit, while one of the Kelsey boys sucker-punched Bubba in the gut.

  “Aw, hell,” Ford said.

  He removed his hat and handed it to Claire. Then he looked at Alice. It seemed she should also have something to do, so he picked up his bottle from the table and in a time-honored Texas tradition said, “Hold my beer.”

  Travis stood and Maggie grabbed his arm. “Don’t you even think about—”

  “Hold my glasses,” Travis said, handing them to Maggie. Then he nodded at Ford and the two of them ran into the fray of scurrying boots and swinging fists.

  It was over in about two minutes. Tony came out from behind the bar with a baseball bat, and his mom followed with a big wooden rolling pin. Most of the men seemed more frightened of Tony’s mom, who was cursing like a sailor and telling them they should all be ashamed of themselves.

  Kit, who could barely stand, had a bloody lip and a cut on his cheek. JD’s eye was swelling, and Gabriel was holding his nose, as was Travis. Bubba didn’t seem too much the worse for wear, but Worth was sporting an eye to match JD’s.

  Ford licked his bloody lip, savoring the copper taste while he waited for his pulse to slow down. He didn’t even know who’d hit him.

  JD was still staring hard at Kit, and it looked like things might heat up again in the parking lot if somebody didn’t do something.

  Ford didn’t need to know the exact words Kit had uttered to start the fight. He’d heard words just like them all his life, and they made him fucking sick. How dare this mean-spirited, hateful little prick try to ruin what was obviously one of the best nights of these men’s lives? What gave him that right?

  He stared into Kit’s drunken eyes and said, “You’re fired.”

  “You can’t do that!” Kit said. “I’m not at work. You’re not the foreman of the entire town of Big Verde. And all I said to those freaks was—”

  “I don’t want to hear what you said. You’re going to get in the truck with Beau and Bryce, and they’re going to take you to the bunkhouse. In the morning you’re going to gather your shit and get out.”

  “Guys fight in bars sometimes,” Kit whined. “You can’t fire a cowboy for doing what cowboys do.”

  “First of all, you’re no cowboy. Secondly, I can, and did, fire you. And thirdly, it’s not because you got drunk and started a fight. It’s because you’re a shitty, horrible person, and you don’t belong on Gerome Kowalski’s ranch.”

  God, it felt good to say those words.

  “Yeah!” Worth shouted, while taking a step toward Kit and puffing his chest out like a brainless peacock. Tony’s mom slapped the wooden rolling pin against his right butt cheek.

  “Ow!” Worth wailed, rubbing the offended area.

  “You deserved that,” Ford said.

  Bryce and Beau escorted Kit out of the bar, followed by the Kelsey boys, who glared and snarled over their shoulders. “No fighting in the parking lot, or I’m calling Casey to haul you all off!” Tony called.

  Claire and Alice started tending to JD and Gabriel. Bubba had his hand on JD’s shoulder, asking if he and Gabe were okay, and Ford knew he wasn’t referring to their physical injuries.

  What was it like to have friends who cared that deeply? The way Bubba had jumped up…

  A pair of arms sudden
ly wrapped around his waist. He turned to see Claire’s face, filled with emotion. “Are you okay?”

  He nodded, trying to make out what Claire was thinking. What she was feeling.

  There was definitely concern. Maybe a little irritation. Definitely some pride.

  That made him feel the best, but he hadn’t done anything for anybody to be proud of. He’d defended his friends. Who wouldn’t do that? And also, when had he started thinking of these folks as his friends?

  Claire touched his swelling lip, and then right there in front of God and everybody, she kissed him.

  People were chattering away, either about them, or JD and Gabriel, or maybe the way Bubba had dodged that punch. Ford didn’t care. Claire’s lips were on his, and that’s all that mattered.

  If he were the kind of man to settle down, he might think that maybe these were his people, and that maybe Big Verde was his town.

  And that maybe this could be his woman.

  * * *

  Claire’s mind was blank. She couldn’t form a thought. All she knew was that Ford had stood up for her friends, he’d been hit, his lip was bleeding…

  And now she was kissing him.

  In front of people.

  And the people were whistling and making kissy sounds and she was probably going to regret this, but right now, she didn’t care.

  “Enough!” someone said.

  But Claire hadn’t had nearly enough.

  “You folks need to get out of my bar.”

  Claire came to her senses and broke the kiss. Was Tony talking to them?

  “Thanks for breaking up that fight,” Maggie said to Tony. “It looks like the riffraff is gone.”

  “I said out,” Tony said.

  Maggie put her hands on her hips. “Pardon?”

  Travis stood behind her, glasses crooked and a bloody napkin hanging out of his right nostril.

  “You heard me,” Tony said.

  “But we just got here,” Claire said. “It’s supposed to be a celebration. And anyway, the bad guys already left.”

  “He threw the first punch,” Tony said, pointing at Bubba with his bat. “I saw it with my own eyes. All of you out. Don’t make me sic my mama on you.”

  Tony’s mother smacked her rolling pin against the palm of her hand and eyed Bubba’s backside like it had a bull’s-eye on it.