The Texan Quartet (Books 1-4) Omnibus

by Claire Boston

  For the first time since moving to Houston he wished he lived closer to the center of town.

  “Heading off now?” he asked, stopping and wiping his hands on a dish towel.

  “I can wait if you want to come home with me,” she said.

  He kissed her. “I have to take Rayen home.”

  “Oh.”

  Rayen stopped next to them. “I can catch a cab.”

  “No.” He was responsible for her and he wasn’t going to let her get into a stranger’s car at this time of night alone.

  “I’m a big girl, Tai,” she said. “If you want to go home with Piper, I’ll be fine.”

  “You could take my car,” Piper offered.

  He and Rayen turned as one and stared at her. Why would she offer to lend her car to someone who was effectively a stranger?

  “What? Is she a bad driver?”

  He shook his head.

  “Doesn’t she have her license?”

  Rayen said what he was thinking. “You don’t know me.”

  “You’re Tai’s cousin,” Piper said. “You’d vouch for her, wouldn’t you?” she asked, turning to him.

  He was still surprised. “Of course.”

  Piper took the car key off her keyring and held it out to Rayen. “I’ll meet you here in the morning.” She turned to Tai. “Unless you don’t want to stay?”

  “Take the key,” he said to Rayen, and earned a laugh from them both.

  “If I’ve got my own wheels for the night, I’m off. Have fun.” Rayen leaned over to kiss his cheek and whispered in his ear, “She’s a keeper. We’re going to talk about this later.”

  He smiled. “Drive carefully, little flower.”

  Piper showed Rayen to her car and Tai sent Jared to watch out for them while he did his checks. Then finally he was able to lock up and take Piper home. She wore Rayen’s helmet and it was a blissfully short ride to her apartment.

  Once inside, she dumped her satchel on the table. “I’m beat.”

  She did look tired, and he hadn’t been able to give her the attention he’d wanted to tonight. She must be worried about losing her job.

  They hadn’t had a chance to really discuss what she was going to do. But it was too late to start in on that now. He wanted her to forget about it for the night and relax. In the morning, when she’d had a chance to rest, they would find a solution.

  “Is your shower big enough for two?” he asked.

  She grinned at him. “Might be a bit of a squeeze but I’m sure we can make it work.”

  ***

  They definitely made it work.

  He washed and massaged Piper’s short hair, and her moans of appreciation led to other kinds of moans. They were forced out of the shower when the water ran cold and stumbled to her bed, where they made love, fast and hard.

  He’d never been so consumed by someone before. He’d thought he’d figured her out when he’d first met her, but he’d been completely wrong.

  She’d floored him with her fundraising ideas. He’d expected she would forget all about it, but instead she was doing her best to ensure it happened, to get the kids a chance at a better life. He couldn’t express what it meant to him in words, which was why he had to show her with his body.

  When they settled down for the night he pulled her close to him and she cuddled in. He’d never have picked her as a snuggler, but he was glad she was. He wanted to hold her through the night, to make sure she didn’t disappear like a dream.

  “Night, Tai,” she said, sleepily.

  He kissed her forehead. “Night, Piper.”

  He lay there, listening to her soft breathing. Earlier in the evening he’d started to tell Piper about his tribe’s laws, telling her that although they were exclusive, it couldn’t be serious, but Jared had interrupted and he’d had to rush off and deal with the restaurant. Afterward he hadn’t wanted to spoil the evening by mentioning it. Piper had enough on her mind at the moment. Plus there was a part of him that was afraid she’d stop seeing him if he said anything. Perhaps that was unfair of him, but he didn’t want to address the future yet. He just wanted to enjoy being with her.

  Shutting the thoughts out of his mind, he too fell asleep.

  ***

  In the morning when Tai woke he had no idea where he was. There were traffic noises outside the window and he was alone in a bed that wasn’t his. He glanced around and recognized Piper’s bedroom.

  He threw on his clothes from last night before going to find her. She was in the kitchen burning toast.

  “Morning. I was cooking breakfast,” she said. Her hair was standing up in a million different directions and she was wearing a pink stretch tank top that clung to every curve. She was adorable and sexy at the same time.

  “That’s actually called burning breakfast,” he said as he brought her close to him and kissed her.

  “Oh, don’t – morning breath,” she said, taking a swig of orange juice and then holding her hand over her mouth to check.

  He grinned, took the glass from her and took his own mouthful. “Shall we try again?”

  “Absolutely.” She met him with an enthusiasm that made him want to drag her back to bed again. But he didn’t have time.

  The toaster popped, revealing the toast as inedible. “I can cook an omelet,” he said, opening her fridge.

  “Don’t—” She reached out a hand to stop him, but she was too late.

  He stared at the contents of her fridge in horror. A pint of milk, a couple of jars of ready-made sauces, some jelly and a limp bag of carrots that were long past their use-by date. It wasn’t a fridge: it was a disaster zone.

  He turned to face her. “We can’t see each other any more,” he said, only mostly kidding.

  She shut the fridge door and stood in front of it. “I eat out a lot.”

  “I hope so,” he answered. If not, she was subsisting on air. “I’m going to have to make those cooking lessons a priority.”

  “Or you could just keep cooking for me,” she suggested. “I may have lost my job, but there are other ways I can pay you.” She winked and slid her hands around his waist, kissing him slowly.

  He took the kiss she offered and then moved away. “Everyone needs to know how to cook,” he said. He checked how much bread was left, adjusted the toaster settings and put two slices down. “Ka’ sa’ made sure we all knew the basics.”

  “I know those – I just never have time to go to the grocery store,” she said. “Half the time I grab lunch or dinner while I’m at work.”

  “You need to take care of yourself. Your health is so important.” He’d seen too many examples of what happened when people didn’t watch what they put into their bodies.

  “It’s usually healthy stuff.”

  The toast popped up and he spread it with jelly, handing her the slices. “What are you doing today?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s weird not having a routine. I feel a little lost.”

  She looked it as well. He put some more toast down and turned to hug her. “You’re welcome to hang out at the restaurant.” He liked having her around.

  “I might for a little while. I need to pick up my car from Rayen anyway.” She sighed. “I really need to figure out what I’m going to do next. Two weeks in lieu doesn’t give me a lot of time to find another job.”

  He knew nothing about the media business except for his own dislike of it. “Have you got colleagues you can call?”

  “Yeah.” She wasn’t all that enthusiastic.

  “Do you want to continue with journalism?” he asked. “Maybe you should try something different.”

  “I’ve always wanted to help people,” she said. “It seemed people sat up and took notice of issues reported in the media. If it wasn’t there, no one noticed. I was certain I could use my skills to highlight injustice in the world.” She sighed. “But the Age wasn’t interested in anything that didn’t suit their target market. And you know what really grates?” she asked, whirling aro
und to face him. “I was working so damn hard for them. I busted my gut getting stories that were different, offering suggestions, working way past the hours I was paid. Then they laid me off.”

  Lost Piper was gone, replaced by angry Piper. She stood with her hands on her hips, her eyes flashing.

  The toast popped up and he spread it, keeping his eyes on the fiery woman who had appeared before him. “They didn’t appreciate what they had,” he said.

  “Damn straight,” she agreed. “Keith doesn’t know diddly-squat about news. He’s only interested in keeping the owners happy and they’ve got an agenda as big as Texas.”

  He took a bite of his toast and let her continue to rant.

  “It amazes me readers don’t complain about the bias, but maybe they don’t notice it.”

  “So who would publish the stories you want to write?” he asked.

  She shrugged as the fight left her. “Some of the online newspapers have good coverage of facts,” she said. “I need to do more research.”

  “Do you enjoy finding the stories, the research and the writing? Or do you want to help people?”

  Actions spoke louder than words.

  The question made her squint at him, thinking. “I like digging up facts, researching things.”

  “Are there many jobs for researchers?” he asked. Perhaps she could use her situation to change her direction in life, if that’s what she wanted.

  “I don’t know.” But she was considering it. She stared at the table, her attention elsewhere.

  He swallowed the rest of his toast. “I need to go. You going to come with me?”

  “Yeah. Let me grab my bag.”

  While she did that, he tidied the kitchen, putting the last two slices of bread in the cupboard and wiping over the bench top.

  “You don’t need to clean up,” she said.

  “I ate too.” Plus he hated a dirty kitchen. It was ingrained into him. Everything had to be clean when cooking.

  He took his helmet off the counter, waiting while she locked up her apartment then handing her Rayen’s helmet.

  It was a short drive to the restaurant and it was nice to be the first one there, to enjoy the quiet of his place. Piper had brought her laptop and set it up in the break room while Tai went through his morning routine. Rayen was rostered on at lunchtime so it would be a couple of hours before she arrived.

  As he sat down at his computer to go over the figures, he sighed. This was his least favorite part of his role as head chef. He would have much preferred to have left the business side to a manager and just cooked. Perhaps it was something he needed to explore further. Particularly if he wanted to spend more time at the reservation.

  It was also time he thought seriously about expanding his business. He’d had a few ideas but he needed to review them critically to see if they were viable.

  There was the cookbook he’d spoken to Piper about, opening another restaurant, or doing cooking classes. He’d like to know Piper’s opinion.

  Tai finished reading the report, made some notes and stretched, getting to his feet and wandering next door. Piper sat at the table, her laptop in front of her and her fingers flying over the keys. She continued to type as she looked up. Seeing him she smiled. He was impressed. He wasn’t a slow typist but he had to look at the keys when he did it. “Any luck?” he asked.

  “One of my friends put me onto a couple of freelance websites where writers post they’re looking for work, and companies leave details of jobs. There’s a lot there.”

  She didn’t seem enthusiastic. “But nothing that excites you?”

  She shook her head.

  “What about research jobs?”

  “They’re all for scientific roles I’m not qualified for. Plus, I’m not sure if that’s what I want to do.” She hunched over her laptop.

  It was the first time he’d ever seen her defeated. He wasn’t sure how to help. He couldn’t tell her what to do with the next stage of her life. “If you could do one thing and income and qualifications didn’t matter, what would you do?” he asked.

  She frowned. “I’d help people less fortunate than me.”

  “So have you considered charity work?”

  “No, not really. I’ve never had much time to volunteer, and it doesn’t pay.” She shrugged. “I need to earn a living.”

  He understood completely. When he’d finished his apprenticeship, he was living on the meals he got as part of his job. He’d been staying in a dingy one-bedroom apartment within walking distance of work. He’d rented the bedroom out to an apprentice, had slept on the lumpy fold-out sofa and had no luxuries like a television. It had been hard but he’d made it work because he wanted to succeed.

  It was one of the reasons he always had a spare couch or bedroom in his house for anyone who needed it.

  “And you still mainly want writing work,” he said, mulling it over. He grinned: he’d found the solution. “Maybe you can help me. I want to write a cookbook but I haven’t got the time to put it together. You could – what do they call it? – ghost write for me.” He liked the idea. It would get one of his business ideas off the ground and he could help Piper. “I can provide the recipes easily enough; it’s the other bits I need help with.”

  “What else is there except recipes?” Piper asked.

  He’d forgotten she did very little cooking. She probably had no idea what celebrity chef cookbooks were like these days. “I want to include a history of the food and my culture, how things were prepared and hunted.”

  “That’s a great idea.”

  The idea excited him. “I’ve made some notes already – come and have a look.” He returned to his office and pulled up the document with his very brief notes. Showing them to Piper he said, “If you’re interested, tell me what price is reasonable. I don’t know what the going rate is.”

  “Neither do I,” Piper admitted. “But I can do this for you in my spare time.”

  He shook his head. He wasn’t going to take advantage of her. “There could be a lot of work in this,” he said. “I don’t have a clear idea of what I want – or whether there’s a publisher who will want it. Give me a price and we’ll draw up a contract to make it official.”

  The more he considered it, the more he liked the idea. He could highlight both of his passions in one book: his culture and his food. “You might need to take trips to the rez to talk to Eyota and other elders about the history.”

  Slowly Piper nodded. “All right. I’ll do some research today, review other cookbooks, find out what the going rate is and get back to you.”

  He grinned. The thought of working with Piper and getting his idea off the ground was thrilling. He would show the world they weren’t a forgotten people.

  And it would give Piper extra time to sort out what she wanted to do. Plus it would give him an excuse to spend more time with her – it would be business.

  He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close, kissing her.

  Chapter 11

  “Ugh, would you two stop that?” Rayen stood at the door to the office, holding Piper’s car key.

  Tai smiled at his cousin. “No.”

  Rayen tossed Piper the key. “Thanks for the loan.”

  “No problem.” Piper turned to Tai. “I might as well get started. I’ll give you a call later.”

  He was sad to see her go. He liked having her around, which was strange. Normally he liked his own space, his own company. Piper was changing that. Or maybe he wanted more of her because she gave him the space he needed.

  He kissed her again and she left.

  Rayen stood in the doorway. “What’s she getting started on?”

  “I’ve asked her to help me with my cookbook,” Tai told her. “I don’t have the time at the moment and she does.”

  “That’s great. I keep telling you you need to write one.”

  “Don’t get too excited. Nothing may come of it.”

  “So this thing between you and Piper is serious,” R
ayen said, completely changing the subject.

  “It can’t be serious. She’s not part of the tribe.” Tai shrugged. “But we are seeing each other.”

  “What does it matter if she’s not part of the tribe?”

  It wasn’t something Rayen had to worry about. “If I want my children to be part of our tribe, their mother must be Queche. Membership is passed down the maternal line.”

  Rayen frowned. “Are you serious? You’d let that stand in the way of your feelings?”

  Tai was silent. Their traditions were almost the only things they had left.

  She raised her eyebrows. “Does Piper know?”

  He shook his head, the guilt hitting him. It was a difficult topic to work into conversation.

  “Then you need to tell her,” she said pursing her lips. “Are you taking her to meet Ka’ sa’?”

  “She’s already met her.” He smothered a smile as his cousin’s eyes bugged out of her head.

  “What?”

  “Piper came to the rez as part of the interview she did,” Tai reminded her. “She met Ka’ sa’ then.”

  “That was before you were seeing her.”

  “I’m going to ask her to come with me on Sunday,” he said. “Then I’m going to her parents’ place for dinner.”

  “Wow. Do they know you’re Queche?” she asked.

  He shrugged. “I didn’t ask.” He was hoping it wouldn’t be an issue.

  “Meeting each other’s family is a big step.”

  He didn’t want to consider that too deeply. He changed the subject. “She’s organizing a fundraiser for money to build a youth center at the reservation.”

  Rayen’s mouth dropped open. “Did you ask her to?”

  “No. I mentioned the youth center last week and she decided to do something about it.”

  “You should marry her now,” Rayen advised, with a grin. “She gets you and I’m not sure even Ada and I get you all the time.”

  Tai took a step back, his hands up. “Don’t get carried away.” His heart pounded at the very thought. It wasn’t possible. What was Rayen thinking?

  She grinned at him. “OK, that’s a relief. You’re acting normally now.” She gave him a hug. “I’m going to do some reading before my shift starts.”