Cowboy Six Pack

by Kari Lynn Dell

  She never wanted to see him again.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  A week had passed since the disastrous trip to Arizona. Luke hadn’t seen or talked to Rayanne since then. He’d picked up the phone several times to call her, but didn’t know what to say.

  Cody walked into the kitchen. “You going to keep moping around, or are you going to make up with your girl?”

  “She’s no longer my girl.” Luke stared into his cup.

  Cody sat across from him and studied his face for a few minutes. “I’ve never seen you like this with any other woman. She must be pretty special to have you all knotted up like this.”

  Luke lifted his head and met his friend’s eyes. “I went and fell in love, Code-man.”

  Instead of the shocked look Luke expected, Cody only nodded. “Now what?”

  “She wants nothing to do with me.” Luke ran a hand over the back of his neck. “I can’t change her mind.”

  “Have you tried?” Cody drank from his cup.

  “There’s nothing I can do.” Tired of talking about it, Luke stood. “Today’s the last day of the boys’ spring break. You have anything special in mind?”

  “No. I thought I’d take Justin home tonight, maybe take him and Laney out to eat in town.”

  “You’re pretty serious about her,” Luke commented.

  “I like her. I like Justin.” Cody’s face took on the mask-like appearance it did whenever he didn’t want to discuss something. “But I’m not in love.”

  “I guess I need to take Rafe home, too.” Luke’s heart pinched at the thought of the teens no longer being in the house. Their pranks and antics livened up the place. “I’ll miss that kid. Both of them.”

  “Me, too, but I bet we see them every chance they can sneak away,” Cody said. “That reminds me, I need to hire a bullfighter and a cook. The paying clients will be arriving soon.”

  “You better look for another pro, too, if you think you need one,” Luke said. “I’m going to head out soon. Probably mid-June.”

  “You think you’ll be ready?”

  “Yeah. My leg’s stronger every day. I’ve tossed the crutches for good. Thought I might ride one or two of the bulls here to get back in the swing of things.”

  Cody nodded. “I’ll call Garrett Pike. I heard he’s thinking about retiring after last year’s finals. Maybe Clay Norwood.”

  “Both good guys and each a hell of a cowboy.” A pang hit Luke in the heart. It would be hard to see someone else step into his boots here. He’d miss Cody like crazy. They’d been traveling together for more than a decade. Being without him would be harder than hell.

  The front doorbell rang, pulling him from his melancholy. “Wonder who that is? I’ll go see.”

  Cody headed for his study, presumably to make his calls.

  Luke walked to the door, his limp not too bad. He grew stronger every day. Soon, he’d be good as new. If only his entire body was as healthy. Before his thoughts could take that turn, he reached the door and opened it.

  Bonita Cantera stood there, twisting her hands. “Hello, Mr. Greer.”

  “Hi.” He hid his surprise. Had she come to get her son? He stepped aside. “Come in. Rafe’s down at the corrals with Justin.”

  She entered and turned toward him. “It’s you I want to see right now.”

  He indicated the leather couches. “Sit, please. Would you like coffee? Or a soda?”

  “No.” She perched on the edge of the closest couch, still twisting her hands. “I need to speak to you about Rafe.”

  “Is everything okay?” He sat across from her.

  “Yes.” She shook her head. “No.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  She took a shuddering breath. “Rafe’s father has asked me to come back.” She paused. “I know it may be hard for you to understand, but I love my husband and I want to be with him.”

  Luke stared at her in disbelief. He couldn’t have been more shocked if she were a two-headed calf. “He said he didn’t want his son just a few days ago. And now you tell me he wants to get back together with you? What about Rafe? He’s going to lose it when he hears this.”

  “My husband hasn’t changed his mind, Mr. Greer. He still doesn’t want Rafe and I can’t control him.” She dropped her gaze to her plain, brown shoes. “That’s why I’m here.”

  Luke rode his temper harder than he’d ever ridden any bull. “Why are you here, exactly? To stomp on your kid’s heart?”

  “No.” Her teary eyes met his. “I’m here to ask if you’ll become my son’s guardian.”

  If he hadn’t been sitting, Luke would have fallen. “What—?”

  She pressed her trembling lips together. When she spoke again, her voice was barely above a whisper. “My husband isn’t Rafe’s father. He knows, of course, but Rafe doesn’t. I got pregnant when I was a teenager and the father wanted nothing to do with us.” She laughed bitterly. “Story of my life.”

  Luke’s anger didn’t lesson. “Shouldn’t a mother pick her kid over some guy?”

  Instead of defending herself, she said, “My son loves you, Mr. Greer. He adores you like the father he should have. You can give him all the things I cannot.”

  That hit him in the gut. Luke tried to imagine how it would feel if his own dad didn’t love him. He had a good idea by being Cody’s friend. Cody didn’t have a father, and he always missed not having a male parent. In ways, Luke’s family had filled the void until an elderly Native American couple took him in and raised him after his mother abandoned him.

  Luke’s thoughts drifted back to Rafe again and his heart shriveled. Bad enough the kid thought one father rejected him. If he ever found out the truth—that two men didn’t want him—he may never recover. But damn… Luke wasn’t daddy material. His life held no room for a kid. “I wish I could help you, but I’m a rodeo cowboy. My life is on the road.” Even to his own ears, the excuses sounded lame. Someone’s life was on the line here. “What will you do if I say no?”

  She shrugged. “Maybe my husband might come around—”

  “No.” The thought of Rafe with a man who said he didn’t want him made Luke’s scalp tighten. He couldn’t look himself in the mirror if he turned his back on him. Too many people had already done so. “I’ll take him.”

  A relieved smile crossed Bontia’s face. “Bless you.”

  Luke leaned forward, steepling his hands. “Assuming Rafe wants this, what do we do to make it legal?”

  “Talk to an attorney, then go in front of a judge who seals the agreement.”

  “You’ve obviously done your homework. Are you sure you’re not going to change your mind in a week, or a month?” Luke’s tone turned harsh. “Because, lady, if I take your son as mine I’ll fight you hoof and horn to keep him.”

  Her dusky complexion paled, but she nodded. “I want what’s best for him. In spite of what you might think, I love my child enough to let him go.”

  “Bullshit. You’re thinking only of yourself.” Luke was so angry he wanted to pick her up and throw her out of the house. “You tell him about this because I’m not going to break his heart.”

  She swiped at her cheeks with shaking hands. “Thank you, Mr. Greer. You won’t regret this.”

  ~*~

  School had started again after spring break, and Rayanne threw herself into her class, trying to distract her thoughts away from Luke, but he seemed to be all she could think about. She missed him so much it hurt, but she wasn’t ready to forgive him for deceiving her either. Her emotions roller-coasted from despair to anger to despair again.

  She loved Luke, but could she build a life with him knowing they would never have children together?

  Giving up her lifelong dream seemed impossible; so did never seeing Luke again. Torn in two like a piece of paper she picked up her phone, then dropped it.

  Still deep in thought, she jumped when someone knocked on her front door. She hurried to open it and Luke stood there with his hat in his hands. “Hi, can
I come in?”

  Her stomach jumped into her throat. God, she missed him. She studied him for a few moments, then nodded. He stepped by her and the scent of the outdoors came with him—clean, fresh. She folded her arms across her chest. “What are you doing here?”

  “Hoping to talk things out,” he said.

  She closed the door a little harder than necessary. He reached for her and she sidestepped him. “Why? You said it all in Arizona.”

  “Things have changed. I think you might want to hear about them.” He placed his Stetson on her sofa table and sat on her couch without being asked.

  “What?” She refused to soften.

  “I miss you.”

  Her heart thudded heavily. “You do?”

  “So bad.” He reached for her hand and she let him have it. “Honey, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about my accident sooner.”

  She stiffened. “You know how much I want my own kids, yet you let me fall in love with you knowing having them isn’t possible. You wrecked me, cowboy.”

  “You love me, honey?”

  “You know I do.” She glared at him.

  “I should have said something sooner,” he said. “But I’m sterile isn’t usually the first thing you blurt out when you meet someone. By the time I needed to tell you I still couldn’t find the right words.” He stroked the back of her hand. “Turns out, I have a compromise of sorts.”

  The way he stroked her hand made thinking difficult. “What?”

  “A family isn’t always made up of blood ties. Sometimes it’s people who come together out of choice. That could be us.”

  He made no sense. “You’re talking in circles…I don’t understand.”

  “Rafe’s mother gave up custody of him to me. He’s not exactly a baby, but a kid who needs a mom and dad who care about him. We fit the bill.”

  “What? Wait a minute.” Rayanne pulled her hand from his so she could focus. “Bontia gave Rafe to you? Why?”

  “She went back to her husband. He’s not the natural father and doesn’t want Rafe. She asked me to take him. I couldn’t say no.” He grinned weakly. “So I’m raising a teenager.”

  “I can’t believe this. Poor kid.” Her heart twisted with pain for him.

  “He’s happy. I’m happy.” He reached for her left hand. “We could be an even more joyous family—the three of us—you, me and him.”

  “What about you being on the road? You said having a family out there would be impossible.” Her heart sped up like a race car’s motor.

  “We could make it work. Maybe home school? Travel in an R.V.” He ran a hand over the back of his neck. “Hell, I don’t know. I just know I want us to be together.” He slid off the couch and knelt in front of her, still holding her hand. “Would you marry me? Us? Make a family with me and Rafe?”

  Stunned, Rayanne could only nod. Taking on a teenage boy wasn’t how she’d imagined becoming a mother, but the more she thought about it, the more she knew this was the right course for her. She loved Luke and she loved Rafe. Her dreams would all come true: she’d marry a man she loved deeply, and she’d become a mother to a boy who needed love and stability in his life.

  A wide smile split Luke’s face. He pulled a small, velvet box from his pocket and opened it. Inside rested a large sapphire, surrounded by smaller diamonds on a bed of blue velvet. “Then you’ll wear my ring? Be my wife?”

  “Oh, Luke. It’s beautiful,” she whispered. “Yes.”

  “Not half as pretty as you.” He slid the band onto her hand and dropped his hands to her thighs. “I love you.”

  She shivered. “Luke…”

  “What, gorgeous?” His hands slid up to her waist, his thumbs making delicious circles until her legs quivered.

  “Show me?” She barely recognized her own voice it went so low and husky.

  “I thought you’d never ask.” He stood and picked her up.

  She gasped and wound her arms around his neck. “Your leg.”

  He nuzzled her ear. “It’s healed, darlin’.”

  “No limp?”

  He carried her toward her bedroom without a hitch in his step. “Nope.”

  “You’ll be leaving soon.”

  “Not without you. And not without our boy.”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  When Luke placed her across her bed, it was done gently, not like he was dropping a sack of flour. Rayanne’s already full heart expanded a little more. How had she gotten so lucky to have found him?

  He moved over her and took her face between his hands and lowered his mouth to hers. He was gentle this time, taking it slow. He trailed kisses across her lips, asking them to open, instead of demanding. Willingly, she complied. Rayanne wrapped her fingers in his shirt, as if it were a lifeline. She splayed her hand over his chest, loving the feel of his heart beating under her palm.

  He broke the kiss only long enough to slip her shirt over her head. She hadn’t worn a bra, and her cheeks warmed as his knuckles brushed her bare breasts. Her cheeks weren’t the only things heating up, she thought absently. Eager to touch him in return, she tugged at the snaps on his shirt. He helped her pull it off before he moved back over her, his muscles rippling in the low light. She almost cried out loud when the soft hairs on his chest made contact with her painfully pointed nipples.

  Wanting him closer, she wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him tight, her hands rubbing across the sleek skin of his back. But, instead of moving against her, he put a few inches between them and covered one breast with his hand, urging an already tight nipple to greater tautness with his fingers. A moan escaped her as he took his mouth from hers, and tasted her neck.

  A full-blown cry came from her as he moved lower, taking her breast in his mouth, his tongue laving the painful peak. He massaged the other one, while holding himself above her with one elbow. Taking advantage of the distance between them, Rayanne reached for his trophy buckle. Together, they undid it, then the buttons on his jeans. He covered her hand with his, helping her to undo the stubborn fastenings. He then writhed above her, as he shucked denim over his lean hips.

  The vee between her legs heated, dampening her. Frustrated by the barrier between them, she reached for her zipper. Again, Luke covered her hand. “Let me.”

  Her hand fell away and he tugged down the zipper. He slipped her Bermuda shorts past her hips, knees and feet, tossing them in a forgotten heap on the floor. When he didn’t move back over her, she opened her eyes. When she saw what his eyes were taking in, she blushed. His gaze was riveted on her most private spot. She covered it with her hands.

  “Don’t,” he whispered. Tenderly, he removed her hands, laying them palm-down at her sides. With his hot mouth, he traced her from belly button to the top of the wiry red curls between her thighs.

  When she realized he wasn’t going to stop at that, Rayanne twisted, trying to turn away, pushing at his shoulders with ineffective hands. But he held her hips, touching her moist center with the tip of his tongue. She cried out, arching under his ministrations. A great pressure began to build in her, so intense it almost hurt.

  “Luke, stop. I can’t….The words died in her throat as his tongue probed deeper. The heaviness inside built to another level. She cried out, digging her nails into his shoulders. The tension became unbearable just before the world went dark, then exploded into a starburst of neon colors.

  As the tremors ebbed, she realized her face was wet. “Oh, my God,” she managed.

  Luke moved back on top of her and rested his head on her shoulder. His erection pressed against her knee. Instinctively, Rayanne parted her legs in an ancient invitation.

  Instead of mounting her as she expected, he rolled onto his back, hands at his sides. “Take a good look, baby. See what you’re getting. Damaged goods.” His voice was bitter.

  Rayanne turned on her side, propping up her head with one hand. With her other one, she traced he outline of his jaw, his neck and shoulder. Never taking her gaze from his profile, she continued on
her journey.

  Rock hard pecs and flat nipples rose under her fingertips.

  A trail of silky smooth hair that led to more interesting places.

  With a feather-lite touch, she continued to explore—abs like granite, an innie bellybutton. Over the scar on his stomach where they had repaired his spleen. Biting her bottom lip, she slid her hand lower. To the head of his cock. She circled it with her fist. Slipped her palm up and down with a soft caress. How could something so hard be so soft?

  “Baby, I’m lovin’ that,” Luke said in a guttural voice.

  She moved her fingers lower, tracing the bright red scar that led from his left thigh to his testicles. He had told her plastic surgery had made him like he had been prior to the accident, and he looked completely normal except for the angry red scar.

  Rayanne knelt at his flank. Holding his cock by the base, she traced the scar with her tongue until his penis throbbed in her hand.

  With very little experience, she had no clue what to do. A gentle touch on the back of her head encouraged her to take him in her mouth. With zest, but little finesse, she sucked until his hips rose and fell with her ministrations. Without thought, she cupped his sac. Wrapped her fingers around him. Squeezed.

  His sharply indrawn breath the only sound. “You’re killing me, girl.”

  Instantly, she released him. “Did I hurt you? I’m sorry—”

  He silenced her with a finger on her lips. “I’m a man. Treat me like one.”

  She fisted him until he moaned. She hesitated a second, then did it again. And again. Until his cock pulsed.

  When she bent to take him in her mouth once more he spoke. “No. I can’t hold out if you do.”

  He flipped over on top of her. Kissed her until she gasped. The tip of his erection prodded her damp opening.

  Rocking her hips, she inched him forward so that he was fully inside her. A low sound of satisfaction came from her throat.

  “You okay?” he whispered.

  “Uh-huh.” She was better than okay. In fact, she was perfect. No, he was perfect. He fit like he was made for her. Maybe he had been. They belonged together. Tentatively, she tightened around him. He quivered in response. She did it again. And again.