Cowboy Brothers of Rainbow Canyon: A Western Contemporary Cowboy Romance

by K. C. Crowne

  I slowed as the orgasm faded, the pulses of Travis’s cock slowing until they finally stopped. When we were both done, I fell forward and leaned my head against his shoulder as we caught our breath.

  “And how was that, cowboy?” I expected an eager affirmation, but instead he appeared conflicted.

  “It was good as hell, no fuckin’ doubt. But…”

  I rose slowly, feeling him drip down my thigh.

  “We can’t be doin’ that again,” he said. “It was nice, but this is a bad fuckin’ idea.”

  Part of me wanted to say something sassy, like “you say that now”, but damned if he didn’t appear actually conflicted about the matter.

  “Yeah,” I said. “Maybe you’re right.”

  We dressed in silence. I knew it was my cue to leave. Before I could start towards the door, however, Travis rose and took my wrist. Then he leaned in and kissed me slowly, deeply.

  “Just because it can’t happen doesn’t mean it wasn’t fine as hell when it did,” he said with a small smile.

  “Maybe if things were different.”

  Another kiss.

  “I should…get back to work.”

  “See you around, cowboy.” I opened the door and said the words over my shoulder as I left.

  “See you around, cowgirl.”

  One more smile and I stepped out into the warm afternoon air.

  It was strange. There was a finality to it, as if it might very well be the last time. But I couldn’t help but think things between me and Travis were only starting to heat up.

  Travis

  The sex was still on my mind an hour later when my phone buzzed on my desk. I checked it and saw a text from Adam. Fuck. We had some bad feelings between us, my fault, mostly, and I was fresh off a fuck with the girl he wanted. But what the hell was I supposed to do? Ignore him? That’d be some cowardly shit, and things might’ve been rough at the moment, but that was no way to treat a friend. And hiding from problems wasn’t my style, not even a little.

  You busy right now?

  I fired back a response. Nah. Going over some paperwork. What’s up?

  Mind if I drop by?

  Sure. Bring a sixer.

  You got it.

  Adam and I had never had any major, friendship-shaking problems in the years we’d known each other. But when we did have a disagreement about one thing or another, hashing it out over a sixer of something cheap and domestic was our preferred way to handle it. Never failed that by the time we were halfway through, we’d long forgotten about whatever the hell we’d been feuding about. Figured this time wouldn’t be any different.

  I went through some more of my paperwork, a half-hour or so ticking by before a knock sounded at my front door. “It’s open.”

  The door swung open and Adam walked in. “Howdy.”

  I nodded to the couch and he headed for it, a sixer of Bud tallboys in his hand.

  “Hope I’m not fuckin’ up the middle of your workday,” he said as he took off his hat and tossed it onto the coffee table before plopping down on the couch.

  “Nah, finishing up the paperwork for Skye.”

  And the elephant in the room was lit up like a Christmas tree. Adam laughed as he peeled off one of the cans and whipped it in my direction. I neatly caught it and cracked it open as I took my place in the chair across from him.

  “The girl of the hour,” he said as he opened a beer of his own, the hiss cutting through the music.

  “The girl of the hour.”

  We sipped our beers, the ice-cold brew hitting me just right. A silence hung in the air; clearly both of us were trying to figure out who would speak first. I was being the prick, so I spoke up.

  “Alright,” I said. “I’m sorry about the bullshit this morning. I was hungover and in a sour fuckin’ mood and I didn’t handle it well. Got on your case about shit that I shouldn’t have.”

  Adam took a slow sip of his beer, his eyes on me as he did. He set the drink down and nodded. “Yeah, you got a little out-of-pocket there, bud. Thought for a sec you might slug me in the parking lot of that shitty bar.”

  I laughed. “If I woulda slugged you, it woulda been because my head was poundin’ and I didn’t feel like talkin’.”

  “Now, I don’t know about that,” he said, laughing. “You seemed pretty steamed about the whole Skye thing.”

  Another silence fell.

  “You…still raw about it?” he asked.

  “I don’t know if I’d say raw, but somethin’ about the whole thing ain’t sittin’ right with me.”

  “Are you thinkin’ that because you and I were buck-ass-naked with a girl both screwin’ her brains out?”

  “Nah. Weird as it sounds, I wasn’t too put off by the whole thing. Probably not something I’m gonna do again, but it was what it was, you know?”

  Fuck. The detail that I’d just hooked up with her again rushed to the front of my mind. But I wasn’t sure at all how to bring that shit up.

  “There’s somethin’ on your mind,” he said, giving me a cock-eyed look. “What’s goin’ on?”

  I didn’t want to lie to him. But I knew something like that needed to be brought up carefully.

  “Is it about Skye?” he asked.

  “Man, hard to say.”

  “I mean, sure as shit she’s been on both of our minds today. But I’m gettin’ the impression there’s something more than you havin’ a crush or somethin’.”

  “It’s…complicated.” I thought I was being slick, but the way his eyes lit up made it certain he got what was going on.

  “Holy shit,” he mused, sitting back. “You fucked her again, didn’t you?”

  If there was no point in lying about it before, that did the job. “Yeah, I fucked her again. A few hours ago here in the damn office.”

  “Where?” he asked, glancing around. “I mean, it doesn’t matter, but…”

  Ah hell. I realized he was sitting in the exact spot where we’d gotten busy. My face dropped, and his own expression hinted that he understood. Adam glanced down where he was seated before scooting over and shaking his head.

  “Alright,” he mumbled. “So I’m guessin’ you don’t need me to point out the damn hypocrisy in you tellin’ me to keep my hands off her while you’re screwin’ her on the clock.”

  “Wasn’t on the clock, technically. She came in durin’ lunch break.”

  He laughed loudly, shaking his head. “Man, I don’t know if busting out laughing or coming over there and punching you in the dick is the right thing to do.”

  “You do the second thing hard enough and you just might solve this whole problem for good.”

  He laughed again before his expression turned grim. “But seriously, what the hell? How you gonna tell me what you did and then go and do somethin’ like that? Where do you get off?” His eyes flashed. “Well, I know where you get off – right there where I was sittin’.”

  I wanted to laugh, but more than that, I felt like a total ass. “No,” I said. “You’re right as fuckin’ rain. Here I am givin’ you orders like I’m your daddy, and then I go and screw her again.”

  “Well, would you look at that – you’re talkin’ some reasonable sense.”

  He sipped his beer, regarding me with an expression I couldn’t quite make out. It was like he had something to say but wasn’t sure of how to put it.

  “Alright,” he said, sitting back and folding his hands behind his head. “Now we got the million-dollar question.”

  “Yeah? And what’s that?” A feeling of…something surged up in me. It didn’t sit well with me.

  “What’re you gonna do if I decide to, you know, make something happen between Skye and me?”

  I sipped my beer so I had time to think. I was of two minds. Part of me wanted to give him my blessing, for whatever it was worth. The other part still hated the idea of Adam and Skye getting together when I still wanted her.

  “You look confused, Travis. Tell me somethin’, one way or another.”r />
  Another long pull of beer, this one draining the rest of the tallboy. I wanted the booze to hurry up and kick in, to make this bullshit easier to deal with.

  “You…want to get with Skye. I mean, first of all, how sure are you that she even wants to do that?” I was stalling, being stupid. The girl had hooked up with Adam right in front of me – of course she wanted him.

  He laughed. “You kiddin’? I don’t mean to blow smoke up my own ass here, bud, but I’ve, uh, got a pretty good idea of how she feels about me. And besides, I ain’t proposin’ to her or anything. Just thinkin’ about takin’ her out, seeing what happens between the two of us. Maybe nothin’ will come of it.” He looked away, as if considering something. “And anyway, you ain’t my daddy, and you sure ain’t her daddy. The two of us are gonna do what we want, whether or not you give your stamp of approval.”

  “Then why the hell are you even talkin’ to me about it?”

  “Because you’re my friend, dumbass. And if you’re cool with this, that’ll mean you and I are cool. I don’t want any bad blood floatin’ around, you know?”

  No more putting it off. I cracked open another beer, took a sip, and spoke. “Alright. You wanna get with her or try to get with her, then you go right ahead and do it.”

  “Don’t sound so enthusiastic about it.”

  I checked myself, making sure not to sound bitter. “Nah. I mean, you’re a good guy, Adam. Not like she’s tryin’ to get with one of those scumbags from in town who’d use her and toss her aside as soon as he’s had his fun. I’ve known you long enough to get that you’re a decent sort, and she’d be lucky to have a guy like you.”

  The words didn’t come out as easily as I might’ve hoped. Sure, I was trying to be the bigger man, and I knew the words were the right ones as I spoke them. But damned if I didn’t still feel jealous, maybe even a little pissed about it. My own shit to deal with, I supposed.

  It seemed to do the job with Adam. He nodded, apparently satisfied. “Well, alright,” he said. “I appreciate it. And that’s pretty damn big of you to say.”

  “I have my moments.”

  We went back to our beers, and as Adam drank, a preoccupied look appeared on his face.

  “You’re still thinkin’ about it?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “I’m thinkin’ about Skye, but not about the whole ‘you and me’ thing. It’s…somethin’ else. Somethin’ kinda strange.”

  “Well, if you wanted to flare up my curiosity, you sure as shit did it. What’s on your mind?”

  “You know Bryce Atwater?”

  The name made my skin crawl. The Atwater family owned one of the other big ranches in the area. And though I didn’t know Bryce all that well, I knew enough to get that he was a spoiled little trust fund brat through-and-through.

  “Of course I know Bryce. What about him?”

  Adam glanced away, as if trying to figure out where to start. “So, I’m doin’ a job for him. Nothin’ crazy, just building a barn on his property.”

  “Alright.”

  “And when I went to his place earlier today, I saw him bein’ rough with one of his horses.”

  “That right?” I sat forward. “Rough how?”

  “Nothin’ too out-of-line. But he yelled at the horse, smacked it on the haunches out of frustration a few times.”

  “Shitty. Wouldn’t expect anything less from a brat like him. But why you tellin’ me ‘bout this?”

  “I saw him do it and got to thinkin’ about Skye, about how she’s all about animals gettin’ treated right, real activist type.”

  “Sure. Kinda admired her for it. But I’m guessin’ there’s more to the story than that.”

  “There is. So I check out the property, do some surveyin’, then I go up to Bryce’s office to let him know about the job. But before I go in, I hear him havin’ this phone conversation.”

  “About?”

  “About Skye.”

  Now this was something. I said nothing, waiting for him to go on.

  “Turns out the Atwater family owns a racing track.”

  “Shamrock Greens,” I said, nodding. “I know the place.”

  “Right. And apparently they got a bit of a reputation for not treating their animals all that great. Skye’s taken notice. And Bryce has taken notice of her.”

  “Shit. So she’s been, what, protesting or somethin’?”

  “That’s right. She and some friends of hers have been showin’ up at the tracks, causin’ all kinds of headaches for Bryce. And he’s none too happy about it.”

  “So…what’re you thinkin’? That he’s gonna start playing dirty with her?”

  “I don’t know what he’s capable of. But the way I heard him talkin’ on the phone about her…” He shrugged, but his meaning was clear.

  “Fuckin’ hell,” I grouched. “Yeah, I don’t know what kind of shit Bryce might pull. But if there’s money on the line and he puts the evil eye on her… Damn, she might be in for a world of trouble.”

  “Skye’s not the type of woman to want the men to come to her rescue.”

  “Right about that. Too strong-willed. Stubborn, even.”

  “Mhmm. So I’m thinkin’ we ought to keep an eye on her from a distance, make sure she doesn’t stir up somethin’ that blows up in her face.”

  “Yeah. That’s a good call. She’s young, young enough to not know what happens when you get between people and their money.”

  He nodded, then finished his beer. I took another sip, thinking about what he’d just told me.

  “Anyway, I think I’ve said my peace. I’ll let you get back to it, bud.” He got up and I did too, heading with him over to the door. “I’m…glad we talked about this, Trav.”

  “Same here.”

  I gave him a friendly swat on the shoulder before opening the door. Adam stepped out, placing his hat back on his head as he headed away from the cabin. “Let’s get some beers later, if you’re up for it.”

  “You know I am.” He tipped his hat and was gone.

  As soon as I was alone, the weight of the conversation settled on me. I knew I’d done the right thing, been the bigger man about it all. And I’d told the truth.

  But I’d have been lying if I’d said it didn’t sit badly with me.

  I wanted Skye, and more than that, part of me wanted her all to myself.

  Adam

  Travis was my best damn friend. Had known the man for years, been with him through good times and bad. And that meant I knew him well enough to understand that he was full of shit.

  We’d hashed the thing out about Skye, come to a pretty reasonable understanding. Travis had gone out of his way to be big about it, and I appreciated it. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that he’d been as sincere as he could be. But I also knew, sure as shit, that he wasn’t having as easy a time with the matter as he’d let on. I was sure he still wanted Skye, and that the idea of pushing her away and leaving her to his friend likely was rubbing him raw.

  The situation had only been a day long, but I knew without a doubt that it was going to be bigger than a talk would be able to sort out. But it was the best we were able to do for now.

  It only made a certain kind of sick sense that I’d spot Skye working while on the way to my truck. She was in the middle of hauling a couple boxes, the things in her arms making her look smaller than she already did. I hurried to her, Skye spotting me from behind her load. A strange expression flashed on her face, as if she were surprised to see me.

  She looked good as ever, her tight body packed into a pair of even tighter jeans, her blue-and-black cowboy shirt pulled up enough to expose a strip of her mid-section. Just seeing her was enough to make my blood run hot, my cock to come to attention in my jeans. I wanted to take those boxes out of her hands, drag her to the nearest barn, and give her the screwing of a lifetime on one of those bales of hay.

  “Let me help you out there, little lady.” I reached for the boxes, but she quickly pulled them back.

&n
bsp; “Don’t need your help – I got this.”

  I grinned. What else should I have expected from her? “Then let me supervise, make sure you don’t have an accident.”

  She gave me a wry smile. “Damn, Adam. You really don’t have much faith in my ability to do my damn job, do ya?”

  “Not a matter of that. Just wanna make sure you don’t hurt yourself.”

  “I’m fine.” She turned her attention back to the barn where she was headed. “Don’t need you frettin’ over me.”

  “Can’t help myself. My mama raised me to be a gentleman.”

  “Didn’t see you bein’ much of a gentleman last night.” Another grin, but then her face reddened as if she’d brought up something she didn’t want to talk about.

  “Is that right? And you sure as hell weren’t bein’ much of a lady.”

  But she didn’t smile back. Instead, her expression was serious as she kept on moving. There was something going on, and I was getting the impression it had to do with Travis.

  “You doin’ alright?” I asked as we continued walking.

  Before she could respond, Skye stumbled a bit, the top box nearly toppling over. I reached over and grabbed it.

  “I said I didn’t need your help.” Her tone was sharp.

  “You’re gettin’ it. Don’t wanna see you takin’ a spill your first day on the job.”

  She said nothing, the hard expression returning to her face as I tucked the box under my arm. There was definitely something up with her.

  “You alright?” I asked as we continued walking. “You seem out of sorts.”

  “I’m…fine. Just trying to focus and not screw up on my first day.”

  She was avoiding something. Whatever was bothering her, that wasn’t it. “Well, if it’s any consolation Travis thinks you’re doin’ a great job. You likely don’t need to be worryin’ about him givin’ you any shit.”

  No response. Had the mention of Travis really managed to put her in that kind of mood? I checked my watch, seeing that it was near quitting time. I had an idea.