A Cowboy's Claim

by Marin Thomas

  “Tanya was in fourth grade.” Jean refreshed her coffee and leaned a hip against the counter. “When Mason showed up at the trailer in the middle of the afternoon, I knew something had happened to Gary.”

  “Dad was repairing a section of fence when he had a heart attack,” Tanya said. “He was working alone, so no one knew anything was wrong until he didn’t come in for lunch.”

  “By the time Mason drove out to the pasture and found Gary...it was too late.”

  “He was young,” Vic said.

  “Thirty-six,” her mother said. “I wasn’t working at the time, so Mason offered me a job as his housekeeper and insisted we move the trailer onto his property. And that’s how we ended up at Red Rock.”

  “We lasted about six months in the trailer,” Tanya said. “A storm blew through that summer and a tree limb fell onto the trailer, demolishing the kitchen.”

  “We were only supposed to be in the house temporarily,” Jean said. “But Mason talked us into staying longer and we never did move out.”

  Tanya winked at her mother. “I still remember the morning I walked into the kitchen and caught you and Mason kissing.”

  “You were fourteen,” her mother said. “I guess we couldn’t hide our growing affection from you forever.”

  “I’m glad you married Mason. And I think Dad would approve, too.”

  “I agree. Your father had a lot of respect for Mason.”

  Tanya got up from the table and retrieved the bottle of children’s vitamins she’d picked up at the drugstore the last time she ran errands in town. She dumped three onto her palm and held them out to Alex. “Pick one.” It was a game they played each morning to get Alex to speak. “Batman, Robin or the Joker?”

  “Batman.”

  Alex popped the purple vitamin into his mouth and Tanya moved her hand in front of Vic. “Your turn.”

  “I’ll be Alex’s sidekick and take Robin.” Vic grinned.

  Tanya’s mother dropped her gaze from Vic’s face. “I’m running errands later.” She spoke to Alex. “Do you want to go to the grocery store with me?”

  Alex nodded.

  “Your nephew’s a great helper. He keeps all the food organized in the cart.”

  “And he knows if he goes with Nana Jean he gets a treat at the checkout.” Tanya winked at Alex.

  “Will you be here when we return, Victor?”

  “No. I need to get back on the road.”

  “Then I guess we’ll see you the next time you come through town.”

  After her mother left the kitchen, Tanya set the empty cereal bowl in the sink and loaded the dishwasher while Vic and Alex chatted.

  “I’m glad you’re being a good boy for Tanya and her folks,” Vic said. “Do you like living here?”

  Tanya peeked over her shoulder and saw Alex nod.

  “Do you think you’d mind staying here with Tanya awhile longer? I have a few more broncs I need to ride.”

  Another nod.

  “There’s something important I want to ask you.” Vic scooted his chair closer to Alex. “That nice lady named Renee is trying to find you a new family to live with.”

  Alex dropped his gaze.

  “But I was thinking that I’d really like you to live with me after I finish rodeoing.”

  Alex lifted his head, his eyes wide.

  “Would you like us to be a family?” Vic asked.

  “Yes.” The word came out loud and clear.

  “I was hoping you’d say that.” Vic hugged Alex. “We’ll talk about it more the next time I visit.”

  Alex ran from the room.

  “Are you sure that was smart to do?” she asked.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Promising that Alex can live with you when nothing for sure has been decided?”

  “I’m his uncle. They’re not going to deny me custody.”

  Her mouth dropped open. “What if you don’t win a national title in December?” Good grief, Tanya didn’t want to jinx Vic, but he could get injured or just have an off day in the arena and not win. And what about his promise to Cruz? “What if you don’t win a buckle this year?” What would he do with Alex if he returned to the circuit next year?

  “I’m not losing this year.” He got up from the table. “I’ve got all the motivation I need to win.” He pressed a soft kiss to her mouth. “I need to win for Cruz so I can make peace with the past and I need to win for Alex so we can be a family. I’m not going to let him grow up in foster care.”

  Was he going to win so they had a future together?

  “Where will you live? What about a job?” What about me?

  He pressed his finger against her lips. “I don’t have all the answers yet, but I will. There’s just one thing I need to know before I leave today.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Will you still be around when I’m done with rodeo?”

  “What are you asking, Vic?”

  “I’m asking you to wait for me.”

  Then tell me what I mean to you—don’t make me guess.

  He backed away from her. “Alex and I need you.” He walked to the door, then stopped and turned. “I want both of you in my life. That’s plenty of incentive for me to win.”

  Tanya stared at the empty doorway, her heart swelling with hope and fear. Vic hadn’t said he loved her—he’d said he needed her. There was a difference.

  * * *

  “WHERE ARE YOU?”

  Tanya’s voice drifted into Vic’s ear and he pressed his cell phone harder against the side of his head. “At the Best Western in Ventura.” It was the second Saturday in November and he’d just taken third place in his final rodeo of the regular season in California. The next time he climbed onto a bronc, he’d be in Vegas the first week in December.

  “Congrats on third place,” she said.

  “They posted the scores already?” He’d stopped for a bite to eat. Then as soon as he’d keyed into his room, he called Tanya. He hadn’t had a chance to check the standings. “Where did I end up?”

  “Ninth.”

  Good enough to make it to the finals. “Who kicked me out of eight place?”

  “Yanger moved up after his win in Idaho,” Tanya said. “Why don’t you rest here at Red Rock before you go to Vegas? Alex misses you.”

  “Is he the only one who misses me?” He heard Tanya’s soft sigh and closed his eyes, imagining her lying in bed, a naked thigh resting on top of the sheet. Her T-shirt clinging to her breasts.

  “I miss you, Vic.”

  “I miss you, too.” More than I expected to. More than you’ll ever know. Traveling alone after having Tanya and Alex tag along with him this past summer didn’t feel right anymore. The life of solitude he’d been comfortable with for so long now suffocated him. “I’ve got to get some things figured out before the finals.”

  “What things?”

  “Just...stuff.” Like where he was going to live with Alex and how he could support them. He wanted a plan for the future because when he asked Tanya if she’d share it with him and Alex, he didn’t want to give her any reason to turn him down.

  “At least spend Thanksgiving Day at the farm with us,” she said. “I can’t stand the thought of you sitting in a motel room eating fast food by yourself.”

  “I won’t be alone. I’ll be at the Juan Alvarez Ranch for Boys northwest of Albuquerque.” It was a lie. He was planning to visit Riley and Maria the week after Thanksgiving—right before the National Finals Rodeo in Vegas. “My former high school teacher and her husband run the ranch for trouble teens. They helped me get on the right path.” Until I screwed up and derailed Cruz.

  “Oh.”

  Vic winced at the hurt in Tanya’s voice. Don’t give up on me, babe. “H
ow’s Alex?”

  “Good. He’s talking a lot more. His therapist said she thinks it would really help his social skills if he enrolled in a preschool program after Christmas.”

  “Sounds like a plan.” And another reason he had to win next month. “Renee called a few days ago. I told her I hadn’t changed my mind. I still intend to seek custody of Alex.”

  “And...?”

  “She’s on my side and hopes the judge rules in my favor.”

  “Vic...what happens if you don’t win in Vegas?”

  “I’m not going to lose, Tanya. I promise.” He had too much riding on the line. “I gotta go. I’ll call Alex on Thanksgiving. Tell him I miss him.” He disconnected the call before he changed his mind and decided to spend the holiday at Red Rock.

  The next time he saw Tanya, he wanted to be able to tell her that he loved her. That he wanted a future with her and Alex. That he wanted the three of them to be a family. And he couldn’t do that until he had more to offer them than just himself.

  * * *

  “THIS IS A SURPRISE,” Riley Fitzgerald said as he descended the porch steps of his ranch house. He shook hands with Vic. “It’s been almost a year since you showed your face around here.” He pointed to the house. “Maria’s in town shopping.”

  “I just spoke with her on the phone. She said the ranch hands had taken all the boys to a carnival.” Vic’s gaze skipped over the buildings and the corrals where several horses grazed.

  “Is that why you decided to stop here?” Riley asked. “Because Cruz is gone?”

  Vic wouldn’t lie to his mentor. “Yes.”

  “For both your sakes you two need to talk.”

  “We’ll talk...eventually.”

  “You’ve been saying that for years. When is it going to be the right time?”

  “Next month.”

  “Next month is in three days.”

  Vic didn’t need a reminder. “After the NFR.”

  “This is your fourth time, isn’t it?”

  “Fourth and last.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “Whether I win or lose I’m hanging up my spurs for good.”

  “How’d you come to that decision?”

  “I’m fighting for custody of my nephew.”

  “Maria and Judge Hamel talk often, so I probably know more than I should. I’m sorry about your mother.”

  Vic nodded. He didn’t want discuss his mom’s death or sister’s move to Atlanta. “I need your help.”

  “Anything.”

  “Will you watch me ride and give me some pointers?”

  “Vic, you’re damn good at busting broncs. You don’t need advice from me.”

  “Everything’s got to be perfect this time. There’s no room for error.”

  “C’mon on. We’ve got a bucker that I don’t let the boys get on.”

  Vic followed Riley across the yard.

  “Cruz and I ride him once in a while when we get to thinking we’re younger than we really are.”

  “My right knee’s been bothering me,” Vic confessed. He’d landed awkwardly in Ventura and had limped out of the arena, worried he was finished for the season. He’d driven to the nearest ER to have his knee checked, but nothing was torn. He’d strained the ligaments but the doc had claimed there were already signs of arthritis in the knee joint.

  “Does spurring hurt?” Riley asked.

  “A little.” Riley raised his eyebrow and Vic said. “More than a little, but not enough to keep me from riding.”

  They entered the barn and went into the tack room. “You need to protect your knee before you ride.” Riley confiscated a roll of elastic bandage they kept on hand for the horses and wrapped Vic’s knee tight enough to support the joint.

  “Before I bring out Earthquake, let’s use one of the horses we let the boys play cowboy on. You’ll be able to try a few different techniques without getting thrown.”

  “Sure.”

  Riley led a horse from his stall. “This is Spitfire. He retired from the circuit ten years ago, but he’s still got a little gas left in him.” Vic admired his mentor for buying former rodeo horses that hadn’t been good enough to use for breeding. Not only teenagers, but old broncs got a second chance at the ranch.

  “I have an idea that might take the pressure off your knee.” Riley backed Spitfire into the chute, then straddled the horse. “Does the inside or outside of your knee hurt when you mark out?”

  “The inside.”

  “Okay, slide down a little farther than you normally do in the saddle and shift your weight slightly to the left so you’re not centered over the horse’s neck.”

  “That’s risky if the bronc twists left coming out of the chute,” Vic said.

  “It is, but I think you have the strength in your core to keep yourself upright. When you spur in this position, it should take some of the pressure off the knee joint.” Riley hopped off the horse. “Give it a try.”

  Vic gave it more than a try. After three times on Spitfire, Vic rode Earthquake. An hour later he decided he’d had enough practice. Riley’s suggestion had worked and with a few minor adjustments, Vic knew exactly how to keep his body in position. All that remained for him to do was show up at the NFR and ride.

  “Thanks for your help,” Vic said.

  “Maria and I are bringing the boys to Vegas to watch you,” Riley said.

  “It’ll be nice to have a few friends in the crowd.”

  “You’ll have more than a few friends. Most of the kids at the ranch are coming, too. We’re chartering a bus.”

  Even more pressure to win.

  Riley grasped his arm. “Whether you win or lose, Vic, you’ve had a hell of a run.”

  “Tell Maria I said hello.”

  “Stick around. She should be back soon.”

  “I better get on the road.” Vic didn’t want to chance running into Cruz.

  “On second thought, you probably should.” Riley smiled. “Maria’s miffed that she had to find out from Judge Hamel that your nephew is staying with the Coldwaters up in Longmont.”

  “It’s a long story.”

  Riley chuckled. “All three of you cowboys of the Rio Grande have long stories.”

  “You hear much from Alonso?” Maria had told Vic that his friend had married and he and his wife had a baby girl in July.

  “Alonso and Hannah are joining us in Vegas. Hannah’s brother, Luke, has his sights set on rodeoing after high school. Alonso told him about you and Luke’s looking forward to watching you ride.”

  “Tanya’s bringing Alex to Vegas so you and Maria will meet them there.”

  “Does this Tanya McGee have anything to do with you wanting to raise your nephew?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Where did you two meet?”

  “On the circuit. She’s a barrel racer when she isn’t training horses for her stepfather.”

  “What are your plans after rodeo?”

  “Find a place to settle down and look for work.”

  “I can always use another mentor for the kids.” Riley opened his arms wide. “There’s plenty of room for you to build a home on the property.”

  Vic swallowed twice before he found his voice. “I appreciate all you and Maria have done for me through the years. Without your support...” He shook his head. “I’ll give it some thought.”

  Riley grasped Vic’s shoulder and squeezed. “No matter what the future holds for you, Maria and I will always be your family. You can count on us to be there for you.”

  Vic had been able to count on very few people in his life and Riley’s words meant the world to him. If he could be half the man Riley was, Alex should consider himself lucky to have Vic as an uncle and a father. “See
you in Vegas.”

  Vic glanced in the rearview when he drove away. As Riley’s figure grew smaller and smaller, Vic’s determination grew stronger and stronger. No matter what happened in Vegas, he had a lot to look forward to the rest of his life and it was time to move on. He’d give it one last shot for Cruz and hope in the end that what he had to offer his friend was more than an apology.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Mr. Vicario?”

  Vic stopped twenty feet inside the entrance to the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, late Saturday afternoon and searched for the feminine voice in the milling crowd of rodeo fans. A petite blonde appeared in front of him. She flashed a tentative smile.

  “The saddle-bronc contestants have been signing autographs for the past hour. There’s still time to join them if you’d like. The tables are located across from the west entrance on the ground level.”

  “No, thanks.” He stepped past the young woman and headed for the cowboy ready area. He hadn’t signed autographs once in all the years he’d competed, and he wasn’t about to make an exception today. He didn’t care to be in the limelight. The final day of competition wasn’t about him—it had never been about him.

  The final go-round had always been about Cruz and making amends.

  He turned the corner, leaving the crowds behind and stopped at the sign-in table to pick up his number. Then as he’d done the previous nights, he disappeared into the shadows beneath the stands. He’d gotten good at hiding from the fans and media, and the out-of-the-way space suited him and his twisted nerves just fine.

  He propped his back against the cement wall and closed his eyes—the steak and potato he’d eaten three hours ago sat in his stomach like a brick.

  He reached into his pocket, his fingers squeezing his cell phone. He’d spoken to Tanya and Alex a few hours earlier while he sat in his motel room—a janky dive off the strip where no one would expect an NFR rodeo cowboy to stay. The sound of Alex’s high-pitched voice saying, “I hope you win, Uncle Vic,” echoed through his mind. The therapist Tanya found had made great strides with Alex and he was talking all the time now, asking a million questions about rodeo, which Tanya said Mason was more than happy to answer.