by Claire Adams
The Romance Compilation
COWBOY BABY DADDY
By Claire Adams
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2018 Claire Adams
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Chapter 1
Aspyn
I was a woman, not an airplane, so I wanted a sexy dress, something nice that showed off my body rather than something hideous with shoulders that looked like wings.
“I’m not really feeling any of these dresses from the ‘80s,” I said with a laugh. I put the crazy shoulder pad outfit I’d been eyeing back on the rack.
“Well, they don’t have to be from the ‘80s or ‘90s, but that’s the reunion’s theme, Aspyn,” Perri said. My best friend held up a teal strapless dress against her body, posing in front of a mirror while offering her best pouty-lipped expression. The look made me chuckle.
I didn’t quite get why our 10-year high school reunion’s theme was the ‘80s and ‘90s. We’d graduated from Livingston High in 2008. But I was willing to roll with it.
If anything, it’d be great to see people I’d lost touch with. Sure, social media was great, but I was surprised by how many people I still hadn’t heard from in years, even one from my old group.
Alex Kline.
Warmth spread through my body at the memory of his name. I’d had such a super crush on him in high school. That lopsided smile and that fit swimmer’s body. Oh, boy.
I sighed. The problem was we were never more than friends. Close friends even, but I’d always wanted more. Way more.
Alex was the only one in our group who had left town. He’d bagged himself a swimming scholarship to a school in Texas, of all places.
His dad had passed away while he was in college. Since his dad moved to Phoenix shortly after Alex started college, I didn’t get a chance to pay my respects or meet with Alex. Losing his dad took a lot out of him, I’d heard, and he’d ended up dropping out of college.
I didn’t know if he was coming to the reunion, but I dared to hope. And if he was, I wanted to make sure I was ready to wow him with a sexy dress that highlighted my good parts and hid my not-so-good parts.
I glanced over at the rack, shaking my head. There were plenty of decent dresses. They just weren’t good for me.
The first issue was that a lot of them seemed designed for tall, beanpole women. I was short and curvy. And the dresses that worked for my height didn’t work with my pale skin and dark hair.
My blonde friend, on the other hand, already looked like she’d found a good dress that fit her taller, leggier profile.
“We could try another store,” I said, worry creeping into me. I didn’t want Alex to come and see me after 10 years just to catch me in something awful.
“I called around,” Perri said. “This is the only consignment shop in town with more than a few ‘80s and ‘90s dresses. This is our best bet.”
I was about to complain when I suddenly fell in love, not with Perri but with a dress: black, strapless, deep V to show off my assets. I didn’t know if it was all that ‘80s or ‘90s, but I did know I’d look damn sexy in it.
“Perri,” I said, holding the dress up. “Look at this gorgeous thing!” The only thing that could make it better was a little midriff-baring so I could show off my belly button ring, but it’d still do. It’d more than do. I’d be a sexy seductress at our reunion.
I chilled at a sudden thought. What if Alex was married?
No, he couldn’t be. At least I hoped he couldn’t be. It seemed like I would have heard about that, but then again, I couldn’t be sure. I’d lost direct contact with him and had no idea what he was up to other than working construction in Texas, according to my friend Carl.
“Looking good, ladies,” said a man from behind us. “Y’all done yet?”
I spun to give him a piece of my mind, but then realized it was Carl. Speak of the devil.
He was another guy from our high school group, but unlike Alex, he’d stuck around town after high school. Also, unlike Alex, I never had any interest in him. Something about Carl was just too wholesome.
Was that wrong? I’m not saying I was a bad girl, but I liked my men with a little more heat and edge. Like Alex.
Now Perri, on the other hand, liked herself some Carl and then some. Well, sometimes. That is, it seemed like it depended on what month it was. Hot and cold, or whatever you wanted to call it.
She batted her eyelashes at him and held up her teal dress. “What do you think, Carl? Hot or not?”
“I think you’ll look damn fine in that dress,” Carl said. “Definitely hot.”
She grinned. Guess they were more hot than cold.
“Oh, I almost forgot,” he said. “The gang’s all gonna be back together again.”
My heart skipped a beat. “You mean?”
“That’s right. I managed to get ahold of Alex, and he’s coming. Joe’s not sure how late he can stay that night, but at least he’s coming. The Fabulous Five are back together again.” He clapped his hands together.
Perri and I both groaned.
Carl blinked. “What? No Fabulous Five?”
“I’d sooner die,” I said.
Perri nodded her head in furious agreement. “You’re never going to make that work.”
He shot us both a grin. “Okay. You both still on for drinks later at the Wild Mustang?”
“We’ll be there,” I said.
Carl raised his eyebrows suggestively at Perri and then walked back out.
“Are you two together again or what?” I said. “I thought you said he wasn’t ambitious enough for you last week.”
“That was last week. This is a different week.”
I groaned.
* * *
Two bottles of beer in at the Wild Mustang, I was feeling pretty good. Maybe too good.
“Ten years?” I said, laughing. “Can you believe it’s been 10 years? I don’t know about y’all, but sometimes I wake up and still think, ‘Crap, I have a test today.’”
Everyone at the table laughed.
Carl grinned. “Nah, I don’t think about it much. But it’ll be good to have all us be back together again.”
Perri scooted a bit closer to Carl in the booth. I was kind of getting tired of watching them screw each other with their eyes and thought about suggesting they go get a room already, but maybe I was just pissy because they had each other, and I didn’t even know where exactly Alex lived.
Joe gulped down some beer. “Y’all know that things won’t be the same when he comes, right?” He gave me a pointed look. “Things change. People change.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I said, narrowing my eyes.
“I don’t mean nothing by it, Aspyn. Don’t get too prickly. Just saying everyone we know will be different. Remember Tom Beard?”
“What about that dumbass?”
“Well, he’s Tom Beard, PhD, now. Psychology.”
I just stared at Joe, having trouble believing the C-student defensive lineman was now some fancy psychologist. “Huh, that’s interesting.”
Joe sighed and took another sip of his drink. “Just don’t get your hopes up; people end up different than you remember.”
I just shrugged.
“That’s why people have reunions. To see how things have changed.”
Joe’s prodding didn’t make me too angry. I understood where he was coming from. Of all us five, he was the only one who’d managed to get married. The rest of us were puttering away at 28 either playing games like Carl and Perri or being sad and lonely like me.
Sure, I dated the occasional guy, but the reunion made me realize I was still pining for my college swimmer boy, even 10 years later.
“But you’re still talking to Alex, right, Carl?” I said. Joe rolled his eyes.
Yes, I know how pathetic that made me. I didn’t care.
“Yeah,” Carl said. “The last few years, though, it’s basically been him dropping me an email once every three months or so. He’s still doing construction, just like he has been since he got out of the Army.”
Alex had joined the Army after dropping out of college. I remembered being so scared for him when Carl told me, but he’d come home okay. So now I was just proud. Not that he knew or cared.
I nodded slowly. “And is he looking forward to coming back?”
“I don’t know. He never asks about what’s going on back here except to ask what’s up with me.” He shrugged. “Sorry.”
I didn’t even think to hide my wince. Perri shot me a sympathetic look, which only made my cheeks flame.
Look, it was no secret I was into Alex, but it wasn’t like he normally came up in conversation. That’s what happened when people moved away from a small town like Livingston. They ceased to exist until they came back for a holiday or something.
“I wonder how many people will end up coming,” I said, trying to change the subject. “I’m hoping at least half. Our entire graduating class was only 99 people. It’ll be kind of sad if we could fit the reunion in one classroom.”
“Be cheaper that way,” Perri said with a wink.
Everyone laughed, and some of the darkness weighing down my heart vanished with the laughs. Carl put his arm around Perri with a grin.
Yeah, real slick, Carl. I was sure only half the bar noticed.
I thought things over. The truth was, in a small town like Livingston, most young people moved away. It’s what you did if you wanted that big, shiny future you might see on TV or in the movies. A good chunk of people had moved either to Cookeville or Nashville.
Everyone in our little Fabulous Five had stayed. Everyone but Alex. The heaviness returned to my heart.
Perri and I worked at the town hall, basically doing everything the mayor needed for the town. Officially, I was an administrative assistant and Perri the mayor’s assistant, but that didn’t seem to make much difference day to day.
Joe, conveniently enough, was the mayor, the youngest ever elected. Carl was running his parents’ ranch, God rest their souls.
I smiled. I was thinking about this the wrong way. It didn’t matter that Alex had left. It didn’t matter that things had changed. We had a good town, and I had good friends.
Alex had moved on, and I needed to deal with that. Rather than be a sad sack about it, I’d just enjoy seeing him again. We could swap stories about the good times and make new memories that we’d all treasure for years to come.
Holding up my bottle, I said, “I want to do a toast.”
“Why didn’t you do it before we started drinking?” Joe grumbled.
“Oh, don’t be like that, Joe,” Perri said.
Joe shrugged and then lifted his bottle. The others all did as well.
“To another 10 great years in Livingston,” I said.
“To another 10 great years in Livingston,” the others said.
We all clinked our bottles together, and I gulped down the rest of mine.
* * *
I decided to walk home from the Wild Mustang. For one thing, I didn’t drive there to begin with, so I didn’t have my car to worry about, which was a good thing because I’d ended up drinking way more than anyone there.
The June night was cool and pleasant, a nice night for a walk, and it’d help me sober up a little. It wasn’t crazy. Livingston was safe. Our crime sprees consisted of teens shooting people’s cars with paintball guns. The sheriff did have to chase down some stolen cattle last year. That was a pretty big deal.
After a brisk few blocks, I pulled out my phone and dialed my mama. Next to Perri, she was my closest friend. I don’t know if that made me sad or a good daughter, but I felt good about it most days.
“Why you calling me so late, Aspyn?” Mama answered.
I groaned. “Sorry, Mama. I didn’t realize how late it was.”
“Huh, you sound a little funny. Long night at the Wild Mustang again?”
“Oh, come on, Mama. We haven’t gone there in about a month. We were talking about the reunion.”
“That is coming up, isn’t it?”
“What was your 10-year reunion like?”
Mama laughed. “I wouldn’t know. I didn’t go.”
“You didn’t go? Weren’t you curious about what everyone was up to?” I turned a corner and nearly slammed into a stop sign because some cat caught my attention.
I wanted to shake my fist at it, but it was my own damn fault.
“No, Aspyn. Everyone I was close to stayed in town. And though it hurt that a few people I liked left, that’s just life. You move on, and you continue to live your life. Life is change, honey.”
“I guess I didn’t think of it that way,” I said softly.
“Just as long as you’re not stuck in the past.”
My pulse raced. Did Mama also know how I’d been obsessing over Alex lately?
“What do you mean?” I said, trying to keep my voice casual.
“I know it’s been hard for you growing up without a daddy.”
I let out a sigh of relief. I’d come to terms with that a long time ago.
“Daddy died serving his country, Mama. That’s what I remember him for, even if I can’t remember him.”
“You would have loved him, Aspyn. He was such a warm-hearted and good person.” Mama sighed.
Great. Now I’d depressed Mama.
“I’m not really sad about that. I’m looking forward to the reunion because I think it’ll be fun. Nothing more.”
“That’s good to hear.”
“Okay, Mama, I’m almost home, so I’ll let you go. Goodnight. I love you.”
“I love you too, Aspyn.”
Fun. That’s what this reunion would be. I needed to keep that in mind. Maybe Alex would be everything I remembered. Maybe I’d find out he was studying rocket science. Didn’t matter.
I’d have a great time at that reunion tomorrow if it killed me.
Chapter 2
Alex
A mess of people blocked my way as I entered the baggage claim area. I walked past a few and closed in on the conveyor belt. I only had one damn bag. I didn’t want to wait all night to get it. Half these people looked like they were packing enough luggage and supplies to support them on the Oregon Trail.
Hadn’t anyone heard of traveling light?
My gaze traveled up and down the belt in search of my small, rolling black suitcase. I didn’t have much, but I didn’t need much. I was only going to be staying in Tennessee for one night.
My attention was rewarded as the belt finally carried my bag near me.
I grabbed my suitcase.
A man glared at me. “I think that’s my bag, man.”
I pointed to a sign above the conveyor belt: CHECK YOUR TAGS. MANY BAGS LOOK ALIKE.
The man grunted, and I squared my shoulders. I didn’t have time for this crap. I pointed to the tag with my name on it.
“Unless you have my name too?” I said.
He snorted and walked farther down the belt.
Yeah, that was good old Nashville International Airport for me. It’d been a long time since I’d flown into the airport. Dad had left Tennessee not all that long after I’d started college in Texas, and when he passed, we had the funeral in Phoenix.
An airp
ort cop passed by me, suspicion in his eyes. It seemed like everyone wanted to screw with me.
I wasn’t surprised. The thing is cops of all sorts didn’t like my look. The blond hair and gray eyes were no big deal. The real problem was I had too many tattoos on my arms and chest and pierced ears. They thought I was trouble. Some sort of punk.
It always made me want to snort. Yeah, I was a college dropout, but I’d never been in any serious trouble. I even did my four years in the Army, including two in Afghanistan.
I rolled my suitcase away from the conveyor belt, searching the area. I didn’t have to look long until I spotted a familiar brown-haired man, my old buddy Carl, the closest I’d ever had to a brother.
We didn’t talk enough unless we counted an email every few months. He headed over to me and gave me a quick bro hug and a slap on the back. Lots of people didn’t do right by their family, blood or otherwise, I supposed.
“Damn, Alex,” Carl said. “It’s so good to see you, bro.”
“Yeah, good to see you,” I mumbled.
Something didn’t sit right in my stomach. I’d avoided coming back to Livingston for 10 years. It wasn’t home anymore, that was for sure. I had no relatives there anymore.
My mom had run off to Nashville when I was still in elementary school. I’d not ever talked to her after that, so it wasn’t like I had a lot even holding me in Tennessee.
It wasn’t that I had bad memories of high school. Shit, if anything, I had good memories, particularly of a certain black-haired girl with great tits. Aspyn Matthews.
I don’t know why we never hooked up in high school. I always wanted her, but I also was afraid of screwing up the friendship we had for a quick night in the sack. I didn’t hate my dad, but we were never close. Aspyn was one of the few rays of light I’d had in my life.
Then I threw that away by moving out of state for college. And I didn’t even get a degree. What a damn waste.
“Something wrong?” Carl said.
I looked up and forced a smile. “Nah, just tired. Long flight.”