Page 48 of Claimed By the Cowboys

“I’m good at decorating cakes,” he says indignantly. “You wait. Mine are going to look better than yours.”

Later, while the kids decorate their twelve with chaotic sprinkles and way too much frosting, laughing when Elijah accidentally sticks a sprinkle to his nose, I pipe neat swirls of strawberry and lemon buttercream onto the extras. Soft pink. Soft yellow. Elegant and pretty.

Mama wanders in, eyeing the two separate trays. “Why do those look different?”

“They’re for my favorite residents at work,” I lie smoothly. “Thought I’d brighten their day.”

She nods, satisfied, and leaves us to the mess.

Once the kids are in bed and the kitchen is mostly clean, I slip the extra cupcakes into a small box and grab my keys before I can talk myself out of it. I rush, hoping to avoid Mama, not in the mood to lie like a teen tonight.

But she appears from the kitchen while I’m slipping my feet into sneakers.

“Where are you going?”

I hesitate for a second too long, and she jumps in again. “Are you going to see that man?”

That man.

“If you don’t want to know, don’t ask, Mama.”

She frowns and folds her arms across her chest. “What about James? You can’t mess him around like this.”

“James wasn’t for me,” I say. “He asked me who would look after Elijah and Naomi when I get married, assuming it wouldn’t be me.”

Her eyes widen for a second, but then her frown deepens. “Maybe he assumed they’d stay with me.”

“I’d never leave them, Mama. You know that.”

“He’s a good man. You need a good man.”

“Am I not doing fine by myself? The bills are paid. We’re all fed and happy. I’ve got it covered.”

“It’s about more than that, Brandy, and you know it. I want you to be happy, and you walk around this place like you’re treading water against a current.”

“I know what kind of man I need,” I admit. “And it isn’t James.”

“Then Marcus? Someone else from church. I can set you up with someone else.”

“No, Mama,” I sigh. “I’ll find my own man.”

“No man who expects you to leave your house this late for sex is a decent person worth you spending your time and attention on.”

“That isn’t what this is,” I say. “Just… I’ve gotta go.”

I open the front door and disappear through it, desperate to get away before we hurt each other’s feelings. She watches as I drive away, toward the ranch where two men aren’t expecting me but will smile like I made their dreams come true the moment they see me.

***

Bo opens the door before I even knock. Jensen is right behind him. Their faces light up the second they see me, like I’m the best thing that’s happened to them all day.

“Brought you something,” I say, holding out the box.

“You did?” The glee in Jensen’s face is contagious.

“I did.”

They peer into the box, and Bo immediately pulls out the cupcake with lemon zest. “Lemon?”