by Snow Novels
The cowboy who entered the arena now caught her attention. He had sandy hair under his cowboy hat and bright blue eyes that made her think of the water back home in California. Sometimes she wondered whether she'd made a mistake moving here with Tom, but she'd thought she was in love. Lately, she wasn't so sure. His drinking had gotten worse, and his attitude towards her had become indifferent. Texas was so very far from home and her family.
The cowboy she'd been watching looked directly at her and winked. His sun bronzed skin sent little shivers up her spine and Jaclynn felt herself blush. She turned her eyes away as he jumped onto the bull. She couldn't watch that cute cowboy get hurt. Tom still wasn't back and this was just getting ridiculous. Jaclynn stood up, determined to find him and drag him back to their seats with her. He'd made her come to this thing, the least he could do was sit through it with her.
She wandered among the vendors, looking for his dark hair and rounded head. He was taller than most men and she could easily spot him in a crowd, but there was no sign of him. She pulled her phone from her purse and dialed his number. It rang and rang until it clicked over to his voicemail and she hung up. There was no point in leaving him a message. He'd never bother to check it.
Finally, she thought she saw him walking out of an exit and ran to catch up. Maybe he's going to the car. When she got outside she saw his head bobbing amongst the crowd and moved towards him calling his name. "Tom!"
He turned and that's when Jaclynn noticed the girl on his arm. Funny how she hadn't seen her before. The girl had pale skin and long blonde hair, the exact opposite of Jalynn's short black hair and chocolate skin.
"Tom?" she asked, walking up to them. "What's going on?" He looked at her then at the girl next to him, and he shrugged. Jaclynn's heart sank. He couldn't at least try to come up with a lie? If he did, she might try to believe it.
"Sorry babe," he said, putting his arm around the blonde. "I think I'm just tired of things. I need some variety. You understand?" She could smell the liquor on his breath; it made her nostrils flare.
"What are you talking about?" she asked, not fully comprehending what was happening. Tom was drunk, that's all. He didn't know what he was saying.
"Look, you're better off back in L.A. anyway. Your family's there."
"Wait... are you dumping me? At a freaking rodeo?"
Tom shrugged again and turned away from her with the blonde. "Tom! Wait!" she grabbed his shoulder, intending to stop him. She couldn't let him go.
Tom spun around and slapped her. His hand landed hard across her face and she saw stars float in front her eyes. Tom had never hit her before. He didn't even look sorry. His hand was still in the air, ready to strike her again should she dare him, when one of the rodeo cowboys caught his hand and spun it around behind his back. Jaclynn heard a cracking sound.
"That's not how we treat a lady in the South," the cowboy growled, twisting Tom's arm until his face burned red. "Now you apologize."
Tom didn't hesitate. "Sorry," he said, gasping for air, his dark skin going white. The cowboy let him go and Tom fell to the ground. The blonde whimpered next to him. When Tom stood up he grabbed her and pulled her to the car with him.
"Don't bother coming back to the apartment," he yelled to Jaclynn, "unless you're not afraid of what might happen if I ever see you again." Then he peeled out of the parking lot, leaving Jaclynn alone with the imprint of his hand still burning on her face.
Chapter 2
Clay Tucker stepped up onto the bull's back and felt his stomach flutter as it bucked under him. It gave him a thrill to know that at any moment he could be flying through the air or trampled to death by the beast under him. His brothers called him a risk taker, but that's what life was all about to him, taking risks. That was something Clay's father had understood, but Clay's brothers never would.
Clay already missed his father. He'd only been in the ground for a week and already his memory seemed to be fading from the family. His older brothers were busy arguing over the estate instead of worrying about how their father's death might affect their mother or little sister. It wasn't right. Clay wanted no part it. They could split the estate into thirds if they wanted and leave him out of it altogether.
He finished his ride without being thrown and a feeling of accomplishment washed over him. His father would be proud. The rodeo was still going strong, it probably would be for another couple of hours, but Clay had a sudden urge to see Becca. His sister had taken their father's death harder than anyone. Clay was twenty-eight and adult enough to handle himself, but Becca was still a child. Ten years old and just starting to understand the world around her.
Clay was heading to his truck when he saw a tall dark skinned man with a blonde strapped to his arm hit a beautiful black woman who looked like she'd just been told she had twenty-four hours to live. The man lifted his hand again, ready to strike her. Clay ran across the lot and grabbed the man's arm, twisting it behind his back. His hat almost fell off but he stuck it back on with his other hand.
"That's not how we treat a lady in the South," he said. "Now you apologize." He felt the man struggle against him but Clay was an expert at pinning both cattle and people. He'd gotten into enough fights to know how to handle himself.
The man apologized to the woman and Clay let him go. She stood looking dazed and confused. Clay felt bad for her. Clearly the world had just crumbled from under her feet.
"Don't bother coming back to the apartment," the man yelled, threatening her if she did. Clay wanted to go after him, clearly the jerk needed a much stronger lesson than the one Clay had just given him. But the woman was starting to cry, and Clay was a sucker for the tears of a pretty woman.
"Hey now," he said softly to her. She looked up at him, her dark brown eyes shined like molasses and Clay thought she was possibly the most beautiful creature he'd ever seen. Her short dark hair and smooth onyx skin were so different from the girls he normally went with. Her lips formed a perfect pout as tears rolled down her cheeks. He reached out with a tentative hand and brushed them away.
"Hey, look, it's okay. He's gone now." That only made her cry harder and he kicked himself. She probably had nowhere to go. "I'm Clay. My trailer's right over there," he pointed towards one of the long trailers set aside for each contestant in the rodeo. "Why don't we get you cleaned up and I'll give you a lift wherever you'd like to go?"
She nodded and followed him back to his trailer. "Th-thank you," she said, as he helped her inside. "I... I hope you didn't hurt your hand on that bastard's face."
Clay smiled. "I'll bet that's not entirely true. I'll bet you wished I'd broken my hand hitting him so hard." Her lips curved into a smile that made his heart pound. "He deserved a lot more than what I gave him."
Jaclynn felt the tension begin to ease from her. She looked into his bright blue eyes and suddenly realized that Clay was the same sandy haired cowboy who had winked at her from the rodeo. She blushed and looked away.
"I'm Jaclynn," she said.
"Nice to meet you ma'am," Clay said, tipping his hat to her. For the first time in a long time, Clay felt real passion stir within himself.
Chapter 3
Inside his trailer, Clay handed her some water and tried to make her comfortable.
"Thank you," she said.
"Of course," he replied. "Anything for a pretty lady."
The tears still lingered against her skin. Clay's hand reached out and touched Jaclynn's cheek. There was something so soft and seductive about her, he didn't think he'd met anyone quite like her before. She didn't push Clay's hand away. She wished that Tom could have been more like this man here. She always seemed to pick the losers.
"Thanks again," she said, and realized that she was trembling. The thought of Tom with that blonde floozy was too much to bear. She didn't know if it was out of spite for Tom, or the way Clay's eyes looked at her like she was a hidden treasure, but she felt herself pulled towards him.She leaned towards Clay and pressed her lips to his. She was surpri
sed at the surge of energy she felt when their lips touched. Clay'smouth responded to hers by opening wider and inviting her in.
He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close. She could hear his heart pound and smelled the scent of the rodeo on him. It wasn't a bad smell—like sweat and freshly mowed lawn. It lingered on his skin as she kissed his neck. He ran his tongue over her skin, tasting her, and she pressed her core harder against him.
The bed in his trailer was small, but it was big enough for them to sink onto together and wrap themselves around each other. Jaclynn peeledClay's shirt from his body, revealing a ridge of muscles that ran across his chest like something out of a magazine. Her heart hammered as she kissed the peaks and valleys of his muscles. She liked the way his skin, so creamy white against hers, gleamed in the fading sunlight that streamed in through his windows.
His hands were rough but gentle. Callouses ran over his palms and fingers, but she liked that. Tom's hands had been too soft for her, like a baby's. These were the hands of a real man. They brushed over her skin, pushing her bra down as his pink tongue found the dark center of her breasts and circled around her.
Clay grabbed a condom from a drawer by the bed and slipped it on, never taking more than one hand off her body. When he finally slid into her it was like all the tension from the day left her in one giant swoop. Jaclynn's body pulsed under his and the faster he moved against her, the more she realized what she'd been missing. Her head fell back as Clay drove himself into her one last time, finding his way deep into her cave as his erection erupted in a storm of fireworks.
They lay together for a long time before Jaclynn started to notice something. "Um, Clay," she said. "I think the condom..."
Clay pulled away from her and looked down, the condom he'd been wearing was slit open.
***
Jaclynn woke in the morning to the smell of coffee and bacon. She opened one eye and saw Clay setting two plates and cups.
"Good morning," he said.
"Morning," she smiled, wanting to bury her head into his pillow. She couldn't believe she'd spent the night here. She wasn't a one night stand type of girl, but Clay had been so sweet. She couldn't go back to the apartment she'd shared with Tom, not after what had happened.
"How do you like your eggs?" Clay asked.
"Fried," she said. He cracked two eggs into a pan and Jaclynn inhaled the scent. She didn't know the last time a man had cooked for her.
"Come have some coffee," Clay said, pulling out a chair for her. She crawled out of bed and sat at the small table that occupied his trailer.
"How do you take your coffee?" Clay asked.
"A little cream, lots of sugar," she said.
"A girl after my own heart," he said, pouring them both a cup. He handed it to her and kissed her head. Her heart skipped a beat.
"Thank you," she said, "for everything."
"You're welcome to stay here as long as you need to," he said, and she saw in his eyes that he meant it.
Jaclynn wondered what she'd done to deserve someone as kind as Clay. "Thanks," she said, "but I can't put off the inevitable. I can't go back to my old apartment. I don't have any reason to even stay in Texas."
"Where's your family?" Clay asked, sitting across from her.
"Los Angeles."
He nodded. "I suspected you were a closet city girl," he said. His eyes sparkled when he talked to her.
"I just need to get back there. Then I'll be able to figure things out. I just... I don't know how."
She felt Clay's eyes on her, reading her. "You need money," he said. She nodded. "Tom handled all our money. He wouldn't even let me have a debit card."
The shock in Clay's eyes made her cringe. She was embarrassed to admit the position she'd let herself fall into. "How could you stay with a guy like that?" he asked. "If you were my girl, I'd never treat you any way except like a queen."
Jaclynn's eyes teared up. She'd thought men like him only existed in fairy tales. "Hey," he said, reaching across the table and taking her hand. "It's okay. I'll help you out. You want a plane ticket or the train?"
Jaclynn laughed. "I can't let you—"
"Don't even try to stop me. It's a done deal."
She hesitated. She would never dream of accepting such an offer, but she had no one else to turn to right now. "Train," she whispered. "I'll pay you back."
He shook his head. "Just promise me you'll stay away from the jerks and find someone who treats you like a queen."
Jaclynn nodded, wishing that Los Angeles wasn't quite so far from Texas... or Clay.
Chapter 4
Becca and her mother stood in the shed looking lost. Becca's father had had an enormous collection of saddles, not to mention every other piece of equipment found on a ranch. He didn't use half of it, most of it was just for show. The family had decided to sort through everything and sell those items they could part with to someone who would appreciate them as much as Donald Tucker had.
Becca picked up a black saddle with shiny rhinestones and held it to her chest. Fresh tears welled in her eyes. "I want to keep this one," she told her mother. Martha Tucker nodded and turned back to face the rows of equipment that would take them hours, if not days, to go through. When they were done in this one, there was a second shed, just as big and equally filled, waiting for them.
Clay came up behind them and scooped Becca into his arms. She giggled and squirmed and until he set her back down, tousling her hair before walking into the vast expanse before him. His brothers should be here helping. It had been two months since their father's death, and they were still arguing over the estate. The ranch and land were the only things that mattered to them, and Clay pitied them that their lives were so meaningless.
"Well," Clay said, turning to his mother and sister, "let's get to it."
"I'm keeping this one," Becca announced, holding out a black saddle that had been cherished by their father as a personal favorite.
"Of course you are," Clay said. "We'll just set that one off to the side, why don't we?"
Becca glowed as Clay gently lifted her saddle from her arms and made a special pile for it. "Anything you think you want," he said, "just put here."
They moved into the shed now, Martha's hand scratching the surface of all the items her husband had adored. She felt guilty for party with them, but knew it was better they went to a good home.
"Come on slow pokes," Clay said, "let's get this ball rolling." He chased Becca into the shed and their mother smiled. She hadn't smiled much the last couple of months and Clay was happy for anything that brought some light to her eyes. For a brief moment, Jaclynn flashed before him. Her eyes had been dark but they had shined like a star that night they'd spent together. He shook his head, clearing it, then went to work sorting.
Two hours later, the three of them were hot and sweating. Their mom went to the house and returned with a pitcher of lemonade. Clay gulped it down and looked around, feeling no closer to finishing than when they'd started.
"It would go faster if your brothers were helping," their mother observed.
Clay nodded. "Yeah it would. They should get their sorry butts down here instead of fighting each other all the time."
"They just want what's best for the land," his mother said.
"Oh Ma, Rob is just pissed 'cause he didn' get all the land to himself outright. I don't even understand what there is to fight over anymore. Shouldn't Dad's will have cleared everything up? If they can't decide amongst themselves who gets what, then give it to Becca."
Becca scrunched her face. "I don't want to be a rancher," she said. "I want to be an astronaut and go to the Moon."
Clay and his mother chuckled. "You can do anything you want kiddo," Clay said.
"Besides," his mother said. "It's not exactly up to your brothers who gets the land."
"Who's it up to then?" Clay asked, interested. He'd thought they had to decide on it together.
His mother looked at him. "Your father was alway
s a family man. He knew your brothers were more interested in cattle than women or raising a family. So he left a provision in his will—first one to produce an heir gets the estate."
Clay's eyes went wide, then he bent over laughing. Knowing his brothers, that could take a lifetime.
Chapter 5
Jaclynn stepped off the bus and went straight to the rodeo. She had no idea whether or not Clay would be there, she only knew that she didn't have anywhere else to look. There were men and women both dressed up like ranchers, walking around with boots and hats. They stared at Jaclynn as she walked passed them. She wasn't sure whether it was the color of her skin or the way her clothes and demeanor looked so out of place amongst the country. She was clearly a city girl.
Jaclynn's hand twirled absently at her hair, her face glowing red as she walked around searching for Clay. Finally, she spotted the trailer they'd spent their one wonderful night together in. It had felt magical to her at the time. Would she still have done it if she knew what the result would be? She let her hand trail across the slight bulge beginning to show in her stomach and smiled.
"Can I help you ma'am?" asked a large man in cowboy boots with a big Stetson on his head. He smiled warmly at her and her worries eased. "You look a little lost," he said.
"I was looking for Clay Tucker," she told him.
He nodded. "Clay's up at the ranch right now. If you want, I'm sure you can find him up there. It's The Foundry Ranch, just up that way about two miles or so. Can't miss it."
Jaclyn thanked him and stood staring blankly at the trailer. She didn't want to intrude if Clay was working, but he had a right to know she was pregnant. Even if he wanted nothing to do with the baby, she still had to tell him.