Page 51 of Claimed By the Cowboys

I’m so stupid for getting invested. I told myself I wouldn’t. I told myself it was just stolen hours, wild nights and temporary relief. Look where taking something for myself has gotten me; devastated and broken, crying like an idiot over men who never could have been mine in any real way.

By the time I pull up in front of my house, I’m shaking. I go straight upstairs, close my bedroom door, and flop face-down onto the bed. The sobs come so hard they hurt. I press my face into the pillow and cry until my throat is raw and my chest aches like it might split open.

I thought I was being careful.

I thought I still had walls in place that would protect my heart. I was going to give them up soon and do what my mama wants; give into a man who meets her requirements and make a home for my sister's kids. I was going to do what would make everyone else happy.

But somewhere between the donuts and the flowers and the quiet rides around the ranch and how they held me when I was falling apart, those walls came down, and now I’m lying here broken, realizing too late that I gave them pieces of me I can’t ever get back.

Chapter 26

Bo

I sit at the kitchen table with my sister’s two boys, Brayden and Harrison, on my knees, one on each leg, singing an old folk song my granddad used to belt out when we were kids. I bounce them up and down like they’re riding a horse, keeping the rhythm with my boots on the floorboards.

“Giddy-up, giddy-up, go, little ponies—”

The kids whoop and cheer as their tiny hands clutch at my shirt, laughing so hard they nearly slide off. I catch them and keep going, raising my voice until they’re both breathless and grinning.

My sister, Claire, leans against the counter with a mug of coffee, watching us with a soft smile.

“This place is great,” she says after a while. “You and Jensen have made some real changes… All it needs now is a woman’s touch.”

I slow the bouncing until the kids settle against my chest.

“Yeah. That’s what’s missing. A good woman and some kids to bring the place to life.”

Claire’s eyebrows shoot up. She sets her mug down with a soft clink. “I thought you were going to tell me I’m ridiculous… or that you don’t have time for the work in this place, let alone a family. You’re thinking about marriage now? Since when?”

I shrug, careful not to jostle the little ones too much. “We met someone. Brandy. She’s… special. But she’s holding herself back.”

Claire looks almost incensed. “Holding herself back? From good men like you and Jensen? What’s wrong with her?”

I give a quiet huff of laughter, though there’s not much humor in it.

“Nothing’s wrong with her. That’s the problem. She’s got a full life already raising her late sister’s two kids… she’s got a lot on her plate. She’s scared that choosing us means letting her family down. She’s worried that a relationship with two men isn’t something her world will accept. And I reckon she thinks that we’ll get tired of the ready-made family and the complications.”

Claire softens, coming over to ruffle Brayden’s soft white-blond curls. “Poor woman sounds exhausted.”

“She is.” I press a kiss to the top of Harrison’s little head. “We’ve been trying to show her that we’d take the whole package without blinking. But she’s not ready to believe it yet. Keeps waiting for the other shoe to drop.”

My sister studies me for a long moment. “You’re that serious about her.”

“Both of us are.” I meet her eyes. “She’s it, Claire. We have to wait until she sees it, too.”

Claire nods slowly, then smiles a little. “Well… any woman who can make the two of you talk about settling down and filling this house with kids must be something special. Don’t let her get away too easily.”

“It’s not that simple.”

I look down at the small faces still tucked against me, experiencing an unfamiliar pang for children of my own.

My sister studies me for a long moment, then crosses her arms. “You need to stop waiting for her to be ready, Bo. Take charge. Sit her down and set out exactly what you want. Make her see you mean business.”

I frown. “If I push too hard, she’ll run. She’s already skittish. One wrong move, and she’ll shut us out completely.”

Claire shakes her head with determination. “You’re thinking about it the wrong way. This woman has responsibilities. She’s used to shouldering the burden by herself. Soft hints and patient waiting might be safe to you, but to her, it probably looks like you’re not serious enough to fight for a place in her life. If she’s the kind of woman who puts everyone else first, she’s going to need determined men who prove, over and over, that they’re strong enough to stand beside her and share the load. Not men who hang back and hope she eventually chooses them.”

I turn her words over. “You really think that’s what she needs?”