The Texan's Surprise Son

“You sure you want to wait that long? This horse is one of Brock’s favorites.”

Luke shrugged. “I’ll keep a close watch on her.” If necessary, he’d climb into the stall with the mare. “You going for a ride?” He glanced pointedly at the change of clothes and pair of boots in Jacob’s hands.

“Thinking of taking Zeus out for a spin.”

The gelding was the horse Jacob had used for calf roping and steer wrestling, two rodeo events he enjoyed but had mostly stopped competing in. His four twelve-hour shifts at the drill site left him with just enough time on the weekends to get to whatever rodeo he was competing in. Trailering a horse would be too time-consuming. As a result, Jacob focused solely on bucking events, with the occasional steer wrestling thrown in.

“I’d join you if I could,” Luke said.

“You have your priorities.”

The two were good friends and had been for years. They’d competed against each other on the circuit until Luke retired from rodeoing to care for his daughter who, Jacob just that moment realized, was about the same age as Cody. Now, Luke was marrying Jacob’s sister Carly.

Fatherhood and family life suited his friend. Would it suit Jacob? What kind of father would he be? Lord knows, Oscar Burke was a poor excuse and no role model. And Brock, while better, treated Jacob and Daniel differently from his own children.

Not once had he ever told Jacob that he loved him. Might be because he didn’t.

For a lot of years, that hurt. No more. Not that he’d admit.

“What’s on your mind?” Luke asked, giving Jacob the once-over.

Was he that transparent? “Just because I’m going for a ride doesn’t mean I’m wrestling with a problem.”

Luke shrugged. “Except you are.”

Okay, he was that transparent. “Do you miss rodeoing?”

“Sure I do. Once in a while.”

“Would you go back if you could?”

“Probably getting a little too long in the tooth.”

Jacob understood. At twenty-eight, the majority of men he competed against were younger than him.

“You’re not thinking of quitting?” Luke asked.

Jacob shook his head. “Not this year. Now, if I win a title or two...”

“You’ll be too busy pushing papers at Baron Energies to ride bulls.”

“I hope to do a lot more than push papers.” Like take the company into the next decade.

“Brock softening any?”

“He’s hinted that he might be willing to look at a new proposal after the first of the year.” Which translated into after the National Finals Rodeo. “I’ve been keeping my ear to the ground. Rumors are circulating that Starr Solar Systems is coming up for sale.”

Luke chuckled. “The accident must have had more of an effect on the old man than we thought.”

Brock had suffered a terrible fall earlier in the year while competing in a senior pro rodeo. The injury to his leg had confined him to a wheelchair for months, and he’d been forced to relinquish the day-to-day running of Baron Energies to Lizzie, his oldest daughter.

Savannah and Carly supervised his care at home, an arrangement that had driven everyone crazy. Brock had always possessed a bigger-than-life personality and the physical stamina to match. Luckily, he was well on the path to recovery and had very recently returned to Baron’s boardroom on a part-time basis.

“That,” Jacob mused aloud, “and his kids are all getting married.”

What were the odds the Baron siblings had each recently found their match?

“Don’t forget Lizzie,” Luke said. “Grandchildren can change a person. It did my parents.”

Grandchildren! Lizzie had just delivered Brock’s first, and he crowed his delight to anyone who’d listen.

Except if Jacob was Cody’s father, then, technically, the boy would be Brock’s first and oldest.

Adoptive grandchild. Not the same. Jacob had no reason to believe Brock would treat Cody any differently than he’d treated Jacob and Daniel their whole lives. The thought left a bitter taste in his mouth.

“I wouldn’t trade my life for anything.” Luke flashed his previously missing smile. “Nothing is more satisfying than coming home to Rosie and Carly. Not work, not rodeoing, not anything.”

“I’ve never given much thought to getting married and having kids.” Tired of holding his boots, Jacob set them on the ground and laid his clothes on top.

“You need to make your mark in the world first.”

Less making his mark and more proving he was as good as any Baron, regardless of his start in life and his father’s criminal history, though Jacob didn’t say it out loud.

“You must still miss your mom.” Compassion filled Luke’s voice.

“Every day.”

Seven years ago. Peggy Burke Baron had gone into the hospital for a routine appendectomy and come through the surgery with flying colors. She’d died a week later from a staph infection, leaving her two sons without a mother and her second husband a widower.

Jacob still felt the loss keenly. Brock not so much. Less than two years later, he remarried. Julieta was thirty years his junior and the mother of a little boy. Jacob’s adoptive siblings all adored Julieta and her son. She was nice enough, and the kid was okay, Jacob supposed. But that was the extent of his feelings.

He wasn’t jealous exactly. He might have been only nine when Brock and his mother wed, but he’d figured out soon after that their marriage was based on convenience and affection. Not love. But marrying so quickly after his mother’s death and to a significantly younger and beautiful woman felt like an insult.

Luke squeezed Jacob’s shoulder. “She was a fine lady with a heart of gold. She’d be proud of you.”

Jacob had a sobering thought. If Leah’s son was his, the boy would never meet either of Jacob’s parents. Only Brock.

“Do you remember Leah Snow?” he asked.

Luke scratched behind an ear. “Vaguely. A barrel racer, right?”

“She died a few months ago. From breast cancer.”

“Oh, man. That’s a shame.”

“She and I dated a few years ago.”

“You never said anything.”