A Cowboy's Claim

by Marin Thomas

  The sheets rustled in Tanya’s bed and Vic rolled his head sideways on the pillow. She flung off the covers, and her quiet sigh floated into the darkness. A sliver of light spilled beneath the bathroom door, illuminating the room enough to make out the shape of her body. The sleep T-shirt she’d worn to bed rode up, exposing her thigh. A vision of her sexy leg wrapping around his waist flashed through his mind, and his body hardened. She rolled over, facing his way. Then she opened her eyes and their gazes clashed, neither blinking. Neither looking away.

  After a few seconds she slipped from her bed and padded softly to the bathroom. He closed his eyes and tried to ignore his growing arousal. The shower in the bathroom came on. He gave up and moved across the room, turned the knob and stepped into the bathroom. He expected to find Tanya in the shower, not sitting on the toilet tank, her T-shirt hiked over her thighs, her pink panties peeking at him.

  He leaned against the door—him in his boxer briefs—and stared at her. He didn’t know what to say because he didn’t know what was happening between them.

  “What are we going to do about this?” she whispered.

  “Do about what?”

  She slid off the toilet tank and stood before him—not close enough that they touched but close enough that he could smell her. Feel her breath against his skin. She pressed her fingertip into the middle of his chest and dragged it over his nipple. He clenched his teeth.

  “You want me, don’t you?”

  In case she had any doubts, he placed his hand at the small of her back and held her pelvis against his erection.

  “Then why haven’t you...”

  “We had an agreement. I pay your expenses on the road in exchange for your help with Alex. This wasn’t part of the deal.”

  She moved her finger south, grazing the waistband of his boxers. “What if we redefine the boundaries?”

  He swallowed hard. Vic wasn’t sure how long he could let her touch him and not reciprocate.

  “This isn’t part of the deal.” She nuzzled his ear. “It’s just...” She nipped his neck. “It’s whatever we want it to be.”

  He could work with whatever. He clasped her face between his hands and kissed her deep and slow, then reached behind him and locked the door. Neither spoke when he tugged off her shirt and pushed her panties down over her thighs. Tanya knew exactly what he needed and she ground her hips against him. He wanted to go slow, but Alex was sleeping in the other room and he might wake up and need to use the toilet.

  Vic spun, pressing Tanya against the door, spreading her thighs apart with his knee. Her tongue slipped inside his mouth and he forgot all the reasons this was wrong.

  * * *

  “RISE AND SHINE, SLEEPYHEAD.” Tanya ruffled Alex’s hair.

  The boy pretended to sleep, but she saw his eyelashes flutter when he tried to peek at her.

  “Okay, go ahead and snooze, but your uncle’s bringing donuts back for breakfast and if you aren’t dressed when he arrives, I can’t promise that we’ll save any of them for you.”

  Alex’s eyes popped open and his mouth twitched. C’mon, Alex, smile. You can do it! He rolled out of bed and went into the bathroom, leaving the door wide-open while he peed. When he came back out she pointed her finger and said, “Always flush the toilet and then wash your hands.” She lifted him so he could reach the sink. “Use soap.”

  When he finished she gave him a clean towel. Then after he dried his hands, she moistened a washcloth and wiped the sleep from his eyes before patting down the stray hairs sticking up on his head. “You look very handsome today, cowboy Alex.” She gathered her beauty supplies and packed them in her duffel bag.

  Both she and Vic had risen at the crack of dawn. He’d used the restroom first, then split to get breakfast. And she’d taken her time dressing and putting on makeup. Neither brought up the night before, but the heat was there in every look they exchanged.

  A noise in the hallway drifted under the door a moment before the lock opened and Vic walked in, carrying a white bakery box and a paper bag. His gaze skimmed over her—slowly—eyes warming. “I brought chocolate-covered and glazed. And a special one for Alex.”

  Alex peered into the open box and Vic placed the donut with colored sprinkles on a napkin, then removed a plastic bottle of milk from the bag and opened it for his nephew. “Before you eat the donut you have to eat a banana.”

  “They sell fruit at the donut store?” Tanya asked.

  “I filled up the truck and bought it at the convenience store when I paid for my gas.” He peeled back the banana and handed it to Alex, who ate it without protest.

  “Thanks for breakfast.” Tanya selected a glazed donut. “Better only eat one. If my hips get any bigger, Slingshot will object.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with your hips.” Vic’s comment rolled over her like warm honey. “They’re perfect.” His gaze zeroed in on her fanny.

  Tanya’s face heated at the compliment. After she’d married Beau he’d never complimented her on her figure. Since when do you care what a man thinks about your body?

  Since Victor Vicario had taken an interest in her, that’s when. Good grief, she was losing it.

  “We’d better hit the road. I want to make sure Slingshot warms up before we compete today.” She washed her sticky fingers in the sink and helped Alex wipe off the sprinkles stuck to his lips.

  Once they loaded their bags into the pickup, Vic drove to the fairgrounds. After he parked near the livestock pens, Tanya expected him to go off on his own with Alex, but her two favorite cowboys hung out with her and helped feed Slingshot. Alex held the bucket of oats while the horse stuffed his big nose inside and chowed down.

  Vic walked off, then a few minutes later returned with an empty grain sack and gave Slingshot a rubdown. The horse soaked up the attention. “Barrel racing is back to its original time slot,” she said. “Noon.”

  “You want to grab lunch before then?”

  She shook her head. It was enough that Vic paid for most of her meals. She didn’t want to take advantage of him.

  “You’re not worrying about your hips, are you?” he asked.

  She flashed a sassy smile. “My hips have a mind of their own whether or not I worry about them.” Once Slingshot finished the oats, she said, “Time for you cowboys to get lost.” Reins in hand, she walked the horse over to the water trough. “I need to get this big guy ready to race.”

  “You want to check out the bulls?” Vic asked Alex. His nephew slid his hand into Vic’s. “We’ll stop by the alley later to wish you good luck.”

  She waved. Once they were out of earshot, she spoke to Slingshot. “What do you think of Vic?” The horse snorted. “Well, I like him.” A lot. She enjoyed his company and she admired him for keeping Alex with him in the middle of his season when he could just as easily have left him in the group home.

  She was under no illusions about where she stood with Vic. The reason they were together was that he needed her babysitting services, but he wouldn’t have made love to her a second time if he didn’t care about her or like her. Time would tell if like turned into something deeper.

  “Hey, big shot.”

  Tanya spun and came face-to-face with Beau. “Are you following me on the circuit?” He hadn’t competed in saddle-bronc yesterday, so why was he in town? Then she noticed he wore a brace on his left knee. “What happened?”

  “Pulled a ligament. I’m taking a few days off.” He nodded in the direction Vic and Alex had walked off. “Didn’t know Vicario had a kid.”

  “That’s his nephew.”

  Beau narrowed his eyes. “Are you sleeping with him?”

  “What do you care?” She should walk away and avoid an argument, but hey, she was only human and she liked the idea that Beau was jealous of Vic.

  “I don’t want to see
you get hurt.”

  “Maybe you should have thought of that when you were screwing around behind my back.”

  “You know I still care about you.”

  Beau was telling the truth. He did still care—like a person cared about a pet he’d been forced to give up. “Vic and I are involved, that’s all you need to know.”

  “You’re with him because you feel sorry for him.”

  “I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear you say that.” She wasn’t sleeping with Vic because she pitied him—that was so far from the truth it wasn’t even funny.

  “Don’t you remember what drew you to me?” Beau quirked an eyebrow.

  Tanya would never forget the night she and Beau met. She’d pulled into a gas station after the rodeo in Amarillo and he’d been talking on his cell phone, begging whoever was on the other end for a lift. She’d known who he was—he’d won the bronc-riding event that day. She’d nodded to him when she entered the convenience mart to pay for her gas. He hadn’t given her a second glance—until she’d walked back outside and then he’d snagged her elbow.

  “Hey, darlin’,” he’d said. “You wouldn’t by chance be heading to Lubbock next, would you?”

  Beau had recognized her as a barrel racer, but if he was offered a thousand dollars, he wouldn’t have been able to come up with her name. Then again, Beau wasn’t any good at names—he cataloged the ladies by their boob size. “As a matter of fact, I am. Why?” She watched his face, fascinated by the pink tinge that colored his cheeks.

  “I lost my ride.”

  She glanced across the parking lot. “What happened to your pickup?” He drove a newer-model Dodge Ram.

  The muscle along his jaw bunched. “Someone borrowed it.”

  Tanya smiled—she couldn’t help it. “Ah...pissed off another buckle bunny, did you?”

  “Rebecca Robins.”

  Beau had looked so miserable—as if he honestly didn’t understand why the woman had driven off with his vehicle.

  “I bet she’ll be waiting in Lubbock when you get there.” Poor cowboy and his ego.

  “Can I hitch a ride with you?”

  “Sure.” She held up a hand. “But only if you can tell me my name.”

  His mouth dropped open and she laughed. “Just kidding. C’mon.” And that was how they’d met. Then Beau had entertained her all the way to Lubbock with tales of his adventures on the road and Tanya had been amazed at how easy it was to talk to the heartthrob. By the time they arrived at the fairgrounds and she’d dropped him off at his pickup, she’d felt as if she’d known Beau for years.

  Their goodbye had been awkward—Beau’s gaze had kept dropping to her mouth and after a few heated seconds he’d finally nodded to her and walked away. From then on, whenever he saw her, Beau asked how she was. Over time their chats grew longer and longer.

  Maybe Beau had forgotten, but he’d been the one who’d done all the talking and Tanya had mostly listened. Then one night they ran into each other at a honky-tonk and after a few drinks, Beau made a pass at her and she caught it. It wasn’t until after they’d been married several months that it occurred to her that Beau treated her like a friend, not a wife. Then she’d caught him cheating and the fantasy ended.

  “I’ve got to take care of Slingshot.” She entered the corral and walked over to the horse.

  “Good luck today.” Beau limped away.

  That he wished her good luck surprised Tanya. Maybe he was finally growing up, too. As she saddled Slingshot, Beau’s words echoed through her mind. Did she feel sorry for Vic? She was a sucker for the underdog—heck that was why she was riding Slingshot—Mason had given up on the horse. But no one was writing off Vic. Scar or no scar, there was no reason to pity the man.

  But every time she saw him at a rodeo, he’d been alone—friendless. Then when he’d changed the flat tire on her trailer and she’d offered to buy him a cup of coffee, he’d driven away. She’d watched his truck until the taillights disappeared, then returned inside, more determined than ever to get to know him better. Once she understood his situation with Alex, she’d wanted to be there for him as a friend. But she’d made everything more complicated by sleeping with him, because now friendship with Vic wasn’t enough.

  Crap. Why was she drawn to such a complex, complicated man? There was no doubt in her mind the cowboy would break her heart.

  * * *

  “I WON, MOM!” Tanya screeched into her cell phone ten minutes after she and Slingshot had won the barrel-racing event by a fraction of a second.

  “Honey, that’s wonderful.”

  Tanya heard a voice in the background.

  “Mason wants to talk to you.”

  “Tanya?”

  “I won, Mason.”

  “Does that mean you’re coming home?”

  “Not yet.” Good grief, couldn’t he let her bask in glory for a few minutes at least? She wanted to see if it was luck that Slingshot had won or if he could run this way every time. And now that she’d gotten a taste of victory, she wasn’t ready to call it quits. “As long as Slingshot can place in the top three, I’m going to keep him—” and me “—in competition.” Tanya heard her mother speaking in the background and said, “Maybe I can squeeze in a trip home next month.” Things might slow down by mid or late August and Alex would have been placed in a foster home by then. Even if Vic didn’t need her babysitting assistance, she wasn’t ready to say goodbye to him.

  “Your mother wants to know how your leg is taking the stress,” he said.

  “It’s fine. No pain at all. Please tell her not to worry. I promise I’m not pushing myself too hard.” If the screws and plates were going to pop free, they’d have done so by now. “I’ll call again in a few days.”

  “We miss you.”

  “I miss you guys, too. Give my love to Mom.” Tanya ended the call and as soon as she slid the phone into her back pocket and turned around, a young brunette reporter shoved a microphone in her face. “Tanya McGee. What made you decide to return to barrel racing after your car accident?”

  Whatever happened to “How does it feel to win?” She had opened her mouth to speak when someone touched her elbow—Vic and Alex stood behind her. She smiled, expecting their congratulations. What she heard left her speechless.

  “Traffic’s bad. We need to leave.”

  “But...” She glanced at the reporter, whose gaze swung like a pendulum between Vic and Tanya. “Let me answer a few questions and then—”

  “Suit yourself. I’ll let you know where we stop for the night.” Vic walked off, Alex holding his hand, his little legs pumping fast to keep up.

  Oh. My. God. Vic was leaving her behind. Anger drowned out the excitement of her win. Fuming, she told the reporter, “I’m sorry. I have to go.”

  “Will there be a next time?” the reporter asked.

  “You bet there’s going to be a next time.” She forced a smile, then walked Slingshot outside to the corral, where she unsaddled him and allowed him a drink of water. Across the lot she caught sight of Vic helping Alex into the backseat of his pickup. The traffic was bad—yeah, right. They had a few days to make it to Amarillo, Texas, for his next rodeo.

  She gave Slingshot a quick rubdown. When she led him from the corral, she noticed Vic’s truck now sat parked next to her pickup. He got out and walked over to her. “Is Slingshot ready to load?”

  “Yes.”

  He opened the trailer doors and lowered the ramp for her. Then she escorted the horse inside. “Vic?” She caught him staring into space.

  “Aren’t you going to congratulate me on my win?” she asked.

  “Congratulations,” he said in a flat voice. She walked down the ramp and stood in front of him.

  Hands on her hips, she glared. “What’s the matter with you?”

 
“Nothing, why?”

  “Well, for one thing you rudely interrupted me and the reporter. It’s not like you to be mean.” Beau had said mean things to her in the past, but Vic wasn’t disrespectful.

  His shoulders slumped. “I’m sorry. You’re right, I shouldn’t have interrupted.” Then he removed his hat and looked her in the eye. “Congratulations on your win. You and Slingshot looked great out there.” He stowed the ramp in the trailer and shut the doors before getting into his pickup.

  So much for a victory celebration tonight. Tanya locked the trailer doors, then followed Vic out of the fairgrounds. As they left the city limits of Mesquite behind, she decided not to let Vic’s bad mood dampen her spirits. She’d relish the victory even if she had to party by herself.

  Chapter Nine

  Vic parked in the lot behind the Amarillo National Center, where the Amarillo Tri-Sate Fair and Rodeo was taking place the second weekend of August. He glanced in the rearview mirror and watched Tanya pull her horse trailer up to the corral. He blamed the tension between him and Tanya on the piss-poor way he’d handled her win in Mesquite.

  He’d been frustrated with his performance that night and had blamed his inability to focus on Tanya and Alex, which wasn’t fair when his nephew had no control over his situation and Tanya was only doing Vic a favor by helping him take care of Alex so he could compete. If anyone was responsible for the mess he was in, it was his mother and sister. Their actions had set into motion the circumstances Vic found himself in. He’d believed he’d escaped the barrio and had left his sordid past behind when in truth he could never run from who he was or where he’d come from.