Cowboy's Law

by B. A. Tortuga

  Once the twins were done, Wiley came over. “Can I spend the night at Mick’s after the game? His dad wants to go fishing Saturday morning at Abiquiu.”

  Seth shrugged. He didn’t see why not. “Sure, if you don’t have a ton of homework.”

  “I’ll make sure, Uncle.”

  “Right on. And call me before you go, just so I know. And on the way home.”

  Wiley laughed. “I know. I will.”

  “Good man. You need any money before you go, I have a couple of chores tomorrow night that need doing.” He tried to encourage the kids to earn money around the ranch instead of getting a job in town that would cost them more in gas.

  God knew, there was enough work, even with hired hands.

  “Yessir. Make me a list.” Wiley liked to buy Cokes and snacks.

  “Will do.”

  He sat there for a second. Wow, what a day. It ended okay, though, with food and happy kids. He thought maybe he had Law to thank for that. He had a package of Oreos hidden away. Maybe Law would share.

  “How’s the leg?”

  “Feels like it got cut open by a giant turkey.”

  “Ugh.” Law helped him up when the girls hopped down and ran off. “Let’s go put it up. It’s my turn to get the Advil too.”

  “Thanks, man. Want to watch a movie after the little ones crash?” He felt daring somehow, like they weren’t living together or something.

  “I do.” Law beamed at him, like he was so tickled to be asked. “Something that’s not singy or cartoons.”

  “Tombstone?” He loved that movie.

  “That sounds great.”

  Wiley chuckled. Wiley liked that one too, but it was a school night, and he wouldn’t ask to watch. He was a good kid. Seth might keep him.

  “Uncle! Sister’s locked in the bathroom and the door won’t open!” Jordan stood there, eyes wide, panicked. “She’s crying!”

  “Goddamn it! I hate that friggin’ door!” He was always fighting the crooked doorframe, promising himself he would sand down the door and never getting around to it. “Tell her I’m coming.”

  Jordan hated when something upset her sister. “Now, Uncle!”

  “Does it just stick? I can get it,” Law offered.

  “Nah. It’s tricky.” He would get it before he went to sit on his ass. But it was good to have someone ask.

  “Uncle! Uncle, let me out!”

  “I’m coming.” He twisted the door handle, trying to get some leverage.

  He could hear her hiccuping in there, and he got a little frustrated, yanking, then pushing.

  “Here. Really, let me try?”

  He stepped back, letting Law have the space.

  “Get away from the door, honey. I need to hit it, and I don’t want it to fly into you.”

  “Okay!”

  Law turned the handle with one hand, then popped the door with his other, a sharp, precise blow. “Boom.”

  “Oh, thank God.”

  She came flying out, tears on her cheeks. “That door, Uncle!”

  “I know, honey. Law got it open, though.”

  “Thank you, Law!” She hugged one of them, then the other.

  “I was showing off.” Law kissed the top of her head. “The swamp cooler going off and on and stuff warped it, I bet.”

  “I’ll fix it, honey. It’s on my to-do list, I swear. I just got busy.”

  “Okay.” She sniffed, slapping away tears. “It’s okay.”

  Well, it wasn’t, but he would fix it. Or Wiley would. He should put it on tomorrow’s list.

  “Come on, you have an hour before bed. You want to come sit with us?” He couldn’t put Tombstone on until the girls were asleep anyway.

  “Can I bring Ally with me?”

  “Sure, baby girl.” Ally the Owl had been a necessary bedfellow since birth, and that threadbare ugly thing was Keira’s defender from the dark and all monsters that lived therein, just like the yellow baby blanket that lived under Jordan’s pillow.

  “Be right back!” She was off and running, and Law chuckled. “Who’s Ally?”

  “Her stuffed owl. Thanks, man.”

  “Oh, you would have gotten it. I want to be able to help.” Law steered him back toward the front room, fussing until he got his leg up. “I’ll go get the Advil.”

  “Thanks.” Soon he had two little ones in his lap begging cuddles. Lord have mercy, he was a lucky son of a bitch.

  The kids all gravitated, in fact, and he let them have an extra fifteen minutes, just because he loved seeing them all in one place.

  Him, Law, and the babies.

  8

  “Guys, focus. Come on, we’re going to be late.” Law felt like he was running the gauntlet. Wiley and Dawn were taking care of themselves, which, yay, but he had to get the other three to 4-H. All of them. At the same time.

  “I need my book!” Keira went running back for her project book, while Bethany tried to weasel her way out of going, and Jordan stood there at the door, patient as anything, which promised trouble for him.

  “Come on, Bethany. You’ll like it once you get there. Even you say that.” He hadn’t moved to drill sergeant yet, but he could.

  “But Dawn got to ride with Wiley!”

  “Dawn and Wiley had to run an errand for Uncle Seth.” And Dawn had sort of snuck the request in under the table, he thought.

  “But—”

  “Bethy. I need you to do this for me, okay? This is my first time taking you, and I want to make your Uncle Seth proud of us.” There. Appeal to her empathy.

  “Okay. Okay, you’re so hooked.”

  “I am.” That kind of surprised him, but it was true. He wanted Seth to like him, to feel like he was helping.

  Bethany grinned at him, the expression adult and surprising. “I think that’s cool. Can I call you Uncle Law, even though you’re my half brother?”

  “You can. I get it, huh? It’s weird.” Sometimes he and Pistol had been more like cousins or uncle and nephew than sibs, and they’d been way closer in age.

  “No. I just want… I want people to know you’re family, you’re real. Is that stupid?”

  “No.” He reached for her, and she gave him a hug. They were gonna be buds, he could tell.

  “Me too,” Jordan demanded, running at him like a baby goat. He’d already been racked by Jordan a half-dozen times, so this time he caught the little girl up and hugged her. “Keira, come on!”

  “Got it!” She came running back, one ponytail slipping out. He would fix it when they got there, assuming Jordan didn’t pull the other one out on the way. “I got your cane too.”

  “Thanks, honey.” He would need it after carrying Jordan and all.

  “Uncle Seth is grabbing supper on his way home from his commercial. Did you hear?”

  “Nope. What is he getting us?” Oh, thank God.

  “Fried chicken and mashed potatoes, biscuits and coleslaw, and cupcakes!” Keira sounded totally over the moon.

  “Wow. That’s a feast.” He got into the car, after making sure the girls were buckled in.

  “Yeah. He likes going into town. He likes it a lot,” Keira said, and Bethany shook her head.

  “He hates doing commercials. Hates it.”

  “Oh. Well, at least he’ll get a good supper out of it.” He really hadn’t even heard why Seth was going in.

  “We all will. Lucky. I like drumsticks!” Jordan smacked her lips.

  “Mmm. You might have to fight me.”

  “Nooo. Wiley says you were like Captain America.”

  “Did he?” Aww. That was actually kinda cool. “I won’t beat you, I promise.”

  “Uncle Seth will bring lots. The hands love fried chicken,” Bethany said.

  “Bonner can eat, huh?” He got the wheels moving, and he didn’t have to GPS it. He knew where this stuff went down.

  “Yeah, and the other guys too, for lunch tomorrow.”

  “What’s your favorite part? Biscuits?”

  “I like the m
ashed potatoes, but he’ll get enough for sausage biscuits in the morning, and that’s so cool.”

  “Yum.” He could so fry up some sausage. Biscuits were a bit beyond him, so that worked.

  “I like the coleslaw,” Keira put in.

  “Me too! Especially if it’s not too sweet.”

  “Can you believe it’s October already? We need to get our Halloween costumes. I’m going to be a kitty.” Keira sounded so excited.

  “I want to be Luna Lovegood. You could be a house elf, Jordan.”

  “No.” Jordan shook her head. “I want to be a dinosaur.”

  “Rar? Or a veggiesaurus?” They were almost there in no time. He might just nap in the car.

  “I want to be a T-Rex. What are you going to be?”

  “Uh.” He shook his head. “What does Seth do?”

  “He goes as a cowboy every year. Duh.” Bethany winked at him when he stared at her sideways. So he let it go.

  “Well, I don’t want to be an Army guy anymore, so maybe I’ll go as a shark. Where do we go?”

  “They have a bunch of stuff in town, so we go to whatever is the coolest.” Keira bounced.

  “Neat.” Law pulled in so he could park. “Okay! Does everyone have everything?”

  “Uh-huh. Why’s Dawn waiting outside?” Bethany never missed a beat.

  He blinked. Where was Wiley? “Come on.” He took the kids, shooing them inside. “What’s up, Dawn?” he asked after the others ran in to meet their friends.

  “Uh… nothing?” She was a shitty liar.

  “Uh-huh. I’ll leave it to your Uncle Seth, but I need to know where Wiley is, honey.”

  “With his girlfriend. In his car. Please don’t tell on him. Please.”

  “I can’t promise anything, but I’ll try to talk to him myself, okay? Go on and have fun.” He wouldn’t keep things from Seth, but if he could get a good answer from Wiley tonight, he would let it go. “Did y’all need me to come in?”

  “Not until it’s your volunteer night. That’s next week.”

  “Okay, then I’m gonna run to the store. Text me or call me if you need me before I get back.”

  “Okay. Sure. Please don’t be mad at Wiley. He didn’t say he’d hang out with me.”

  “I know. I just don’t like him not even waiting until we got here.” He smiled for her, patting her back.

  “I promised I wouldn’t tell on him, but if I went in, she’d tell.”

  “Your 4-H leader?”

  “Uh-huh. Did you ever do stuff like that to Pistol?”

  “Nope. I would have gotten my ass whipped.” He winked. “No worries, hon.”

  “Thank you. I don’t want him to hate me.”

  No, he didn’t imagine so. Dawn adored her big brother and wanted to be grown-up, so bad.

  “Go.” He shoved her gently. She went. He sighed, then texted Wiley. “I need to talk to you tonight, okay?”

  “Sure. I’m waiting for Mandy to get done with flag practice. What’s up?”

  He called Wiley instead of trying to text it out. “Hey. Did you drop Dawn off and leave her to get Mandy to flag?” That did make a difference, but why would Mandy’s mom drop her off at 4-H?”

  “Yes, sir. She tutors there at the elementary school, so I offered to take her to flag.”

  So philanthropic.

  “Mmm. Well, next time let me know, and I’ll take Dawn with me, okay? I don’t like her staying outside because she doesn’t want to get you in trouble.” He kept it even, man to man.

  “Oh. I thought… I mean, I only left her for, like, forty-five minutes. She said she didn’t mind.”

  “She didn’t want her 4-H leader to tell Seth. I’m just saying, man. Let me know. I’ll bring her.”

  “Okay. I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to be sneaky. I didn’t think anyone would care.”

  More like he didn’t think at all, but they both knew that. “Thanks, buddy. I appreciate it. I’m heading to the store. Want anything?”

  “I need black shoe polish, and we’re out of Cokes.”

  “Got it. See you at supper, right? Your uncle is bringing chicken.”

  “You know it! Uh, Law? Commercials make Uncle Seth… grumpy.”

  “Gotcha.” He really didn’t, but both Wiley and Bethany had mentioned it. So he would get something at the store. If Seth was bringing cupcakes, maybe he’d get decent beer and a movie.

  He’d bet Seth would enjoy that. He thought Seth was really into having him there to help.

  He hoped so. No one had told him to go away, and Seth wasn’t stingy with praise. Hell, he’d been downright ecstatic when Law had fixed the bathroom door.

  Hell, for a second, Law had thought Seth was going to kiss him.

  That was just wishful thinking. He wasn’t Pistol, was he?

  Hell, he was about as different from Pistol as he could be. And now he was scarred up too. Not that Seth lacked those. Or that Seth seemed to mind them. Every time he was in pain, Seth was right there.

  Seth treated him like he belonged, so he should quit his bitching.

  He didn’t want to bitch, though. He wanted to do things infinitely more perverse.

  Shaking his head at himself, he headed to the store to grab Cokes and pick up some meds.

  9

  The only thing Seth disliked about his job was the show-pony shit with the sponsors.

  “Here, son, put this near-naked girl on your lap and hawk tractors.”

  Fuck.

  He’d come home in a shit mood to a happy, excited family who were ready for their fried chicken. There’d been no bitching, no tears, and Seth found himself… okay.

  That was pretty damn fine, really. Usually by the time it was all said and done he was snapping and snarling and the kids were hiding.

  This was better. Law had even brought him some really quality beer.

  “Thank you for the beer, man. Seriously.”

  “No problem. I thought you might need one, being out like you were all day.”

  “The kids didn’t give you troubles?”

  “Nothing we didn’t deal with.” Law gave him a wry grin. “They’re kids, for sure.”

  “Every one of them, at least right now. Wiley is growing quick.”

  “Yeah. He’s having some growing pains, but he’s a decent kid. You did a fine job, man.”

  “I’ve only done it a while. Someone else gets the credit.” He was holding shit together, but that was all.

  “Yeah, but it has to be a hard time in his life, and he’s well adjusted.” Law nudged him with one foot since they sat across from each other on the couch. Cupcakes were better with only Fluffy to beg for bites. “Take a compliment.”

  “Yeah yeah. Thanks, man.”

  “You’re welcome. I got us a movie too. You wanna?” Law keyed up the TV.

  “Hell yes.” He leaned back over the arm of the sofa, his back snapping and popping away.

  Law got the movie going, and their fingers tangled up the next time they both reached for a piece of the cupcakes.

  “Sorry.” He sucked his finger clean.

  “No problem.” Law was watching him closely, eyes on his mouth.

  “I love this frosting. It’s like fancy whipped cream.” Don’t lick your lips. Don’t lick your—

  He licked his lips.

  “Uh-huh.” Law nodded, but never moved his gaze. “It’s tasty.”

  “What’s your favorite type?”

  “Of what?” Law blinked. “Frosting? Uh, cream cheese if it’s not too sour.”

  “Are you a carrot cake guy or a red velvet type?”

  “I like both, but red velvet is my jam.” Law licked his thumb. “This is good, though. It was this or weird orange fall ones…”

  “I used to get these chocolate mousse cake things in Bernalillo. Oh fuck, man. Better than sex.”

  “Yeah? I got this hummingbird cake at a café down by my dad all the time. They were yummy, but chocolate mousse cake sounds decadent.”

  “It�
��s… uhn. We should take the kids over to Albuquerque to pick out their Halloween costumes and have something wonderful to eat.”

  “That sounds great. They all seem to know what they want to be.”

  He wanted to laugh hysterically. That would change daily. “They know what I’m going to be, as I’m sure they told you. We had this discussion last year and the year before.”

  “A cowboy? Yeah. I told them no Army guy for me, though.”

  He let his eyes drag over Law’s body. “I… I bet you’d cowboy up just fine.”

  “You think so?” Law swallowed hard, scooting closer to him. To the cupcakes.

  “I think so. I think…” Come on, Seth. Quit pussyfooting around. “I think I’d pay good money to see you gussied up.”

  “Well, we can stop by the Cavender’s, then, huh?” Law moved close enough their knees touched.

  “Sounds good.” He reached out and rested his hand on Law’s thigh.

  Law’s lips parted, this one scar right at the corner of that mouth catching his attention. He wanted to lick it.

  “I’m fixin’ to—” He cleared his throat, and Law nodded. That was all the encouragement he needed. He rolled up and brought their lips together, taking a taste of that scar.

  Law tilted his head, their mouths coming together more fully, and Seth slipped his tongue between Law’s lips, wanting to know everything.

  Law’s hand landed on his hip, and his eyes went wide. Oh fuck, yes. He wanted more. Hell, he wanted it all. He’d been looking, and he thought Law had been looking back, but now he was damn sure. Thank God.

  He pushed into the kiss, groaning softly. Jesus, Law tasted sweet.

  Maybe that was the cupcakes, but Seth was pretty sure it was the man himself, hot as hell and just damn all-around a good man.

  Their lips parted, but only for a second, and then they were meeting again.

  How long had it been? Maybe never like this, right there on his couch, not hiding or groping fast in a back room or a hotel room. This was long and thorough.

  This was like to set him on fire, and he was willing and able to go up in flames.

  He touched Law’s chest, then his ribs, trying to find the best place to hold on. Law moaned for him, pushing even closer. He could climb this gorgeous son of a bitch and ride him like a jungle gym.