A Cowboy's Claim (9 page)

Playmates might be a problem if Alex continued traveling with Vic.

“I've also gathered some reading material, which will be helpful until you have the opportunity to visit another therapist.”

“Thank you, Dr. Harper,” Tanya said.

Alex pushed the markers away from him and stood. He looked at Vic, then at the door. He and his nephew had come a long way in reading each other's faces. “I guess we're ready to go.”

Dr. Harper escorted them to the waiting room, where she handed a small fabric tote bag to Tanya. “My business card is in there. Feel free to call me if anything comes up.”

After they left the therapist's office and got into the pickup, Vic said, “I think I remember passing a Chinese restaurant right before the turnoff for the motel.”

“I like Chinese food,” Tanya said.

“What about you, Alex?” Vic glanced in the rearview mirror, then lowered his voice. “He's asleep.”

“Your nephew is a trouper,” Tanya whispered.

Vic couldn't have asked for a sweeter kid to have to take care of. “You and Slingshot looked good tonight.” He flipped on the blinker and moved into the other lane. “How'd you get him to run faster around the first barrel?”

“Fred gets all the credit. He suggested I let Slingshot pick his own pace as he approached the barrels. And it worked.” She waved a hand in the air. “I really need a win tomorrow.”

Vic grinned. “Are you looking forward to telling your stepfather he was wrong about Slingshot?”

She shook her head. “I needed the win tonight for me as much as for Slingshot.”

“I don't follow barrel racing. Did you have a lot of success before...” He snapped his mouth closed. Maybe she didn't want to talk about her split with Billings.

“The car accident?” She sighed. “I was a decent barrel racer. But it wasn't about winning. I'd won a few competitions and that was fun, but I enjoyed the challenge of trying to beat my best time when I competed. I was doing really well when I had the accident and it's always bothered me that I couldn't leave the sport on my terms.”

“Why did you wait so long to return to the circuit?”

“Rehab took over a year. Then Beau contested the divorce and—”

“Billings is an ass.”

Tanya chuckled. “He wanted us to reconcile, but I knew he'd cheat on me again. Besides, Mason threatened to blow a hole through him if he tried to visit me at the horse farm.”

“Sounds like your injuries were serious if rehab took that long.”

“There were complications with my leg healing. Then I came down with pneumonia. It was rough. Mason and my mother both freaked out a little when I told them I was going back on the circuit.”

“Which leg is it?”

She didn't favor either leg when she walked or climbed into the saddle. “My right leg. Didn't you feel the scars when...”

Vic gripped the wheel tighter at the memory of their lovemaking. He glanced across the seat. “I didn't notice.” That was the truth. He'd been so caught up in the moment the first time.

“I'm not planning a second go-round in barrel racing. I just wanted a chance to retire on a good note. I didn't want my last memory of the sport to be connected with finding Beau in bed with another woman.”

“If Slingshot keeps running like he did tonight, you have a good chance of racking up a few more wins.”

They arrived at the Chinese restaurant. “What would you like?”

“Anything with chicken. And see if they have milk for Alex.”

Vic went inside. The teenager behind the register rang up the order and told him it would be ready in five minutes. Vic doubted five minutes of breathing hot peanut oil would erase the scent of Tanya from his head. How could a woman smell so nice all the time? It didn't matter if it was the beginning of the day when she was fresh from the shower or the end of the day after she'd competed. She always smelled good.
You've been keeping your own company too damned long
.

While he waited for their food, Vic wondered if he could talk Tanya into sleeping in one of the double beds in his room. Saving money wasn't the issue. He was lonely. He'd been lonely for years, and it had never bothered him until he'd met Tanya. When he wasn't with her, the loneliness almost suffocated him.

“Thanks.” He carried the food out to the pickup.

“Smells good.” Tanya held the bags on her lap.

Alex stirred in the backseat. “You hungry, buddy?” Vic backed out of the parking space. “Hope you like Chinese food.”

Vic drove one block, then turned into the motel and parked by a side entrance. “We might as well eat in my room.”

They piled out of the pickup, Tanya carrying the food and Vic grabbing her and Alex's bags from the backseat. His room was on the first floor and when they stepped inside, he noticed the maid had straightened up the place.

“Why don't you use the bathroom first, Alex, then wash your hands?” Tanya said.

Vic sat on the bed and checked his messages while Tanya unpacked the food on the table in the corner. When Alex came out of the bathroom, Tanya set him in the chair. “Try a bite of everything. If you don't like it, you don't have to eat it.” She glanced at Vic. “Mind if I use the bathroom next?”

“Go ahead.” Vic pulled out one of the pamphlets Dr. Harper had suggested he look over from his back pocket and started reading it. This one talked about ways to make sure Alex knew that it was okay to talk about what happened to him. Reading the suggestions was one thing, finding the right moment to broach the subject with his nephew was another.

“I guess you like the stuff, huh?” The kid shoveled another bite of refried rice into his mouth.

Vic set aside the brochure and opened the carton of milk for Alex.

Tanya joined them, sitting next to Vic. He offered her the remote. “Watch anything you want.”

“The news is fine,” she said.

While they ate, Vic tried to figure out how to bring up the subject of all three of them staying the night in one room.

“Good job,” Tanya said when Alex pushed his plate away from him. “Here's your fortune cookie.” She unwrapped the treat and handed it to Alex. “If you break it open you'll find a tiny piece of paper inside.”

Alex stared at the cookie, then handed it to Vic. He broke it apart and read the fortune inside. “Three is your lucky number.”

“That's not exciting,” Tanya said.

Alex climbed down from the chair and crawled onto the bed next to Vic then sprawled on his stomach facing the TV.

“I'll read mine.” Tanya snapped open another cookie. “Seven is your lucky number.” She laughed and then tossed a cookie to Vic. “Let's see what your lucky number is.”

He swallowed a groan. “Your dream will come true.”

Tanya's eyes grew round. “I see a big buckle in your future.”

“Or this cookie just jinxed me.”

She glanced at the clock on the nightstand between the beds. “Time for bed. Did you want Alex to stay here with you tonight or in another room with me?”

Vic glanced at Alex who'd already fallen asleep. “Why don't you two just stay here?”

Chapter Eight

Vic lay in the dark, staring at the ceiling in the motel room as he listened to Tanya's quiet breathing in the bed next to him. He hadn't expected her to take him up on his offer to share the room, but she did, insisting he shouldn't waste money. He'd neglected to mention that saving money wasn't the issue and he had plenty of cash in the bank.

Most of the time when the voice in his head analyzed his motives, he tuned it out. Tonight the darkness taunted him and he gave free rein to his conscience, admitting that he needed Tanya close for selfish reasons. When she was with him he didn't feel as unsettled around Alex. Her presence calmed his nerves. When he was alone with his nephew, the knot in Vic's stomach twisted tighter. He was never sure how to react to his nephew's looks. And there were so many looks—sad, worried, vacant. Vic ached when he considered the uphill battle Alex faced for years to come in dealing with his grandmother's abandonment and then being shuttled from foster home to foster home. And when he turned eighteen and graduated from high school—if he didn't drop out before that—the state would push him onto the streets to live on his own. If Vic had a home or a stable job, he'd take Alex in, but there was no guarantee he'd win a national championship in December—shoot, he might get hurt and not even make it to Vegas. If he didn't win a buckle this year, he'd try next year and keep trying until he was too old to straddle the back of a bronc.

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.

* * *

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