A Cowboy's Claim

“Alex doesn’t even know me, Maria.” As for rodeo, hell yes, it was important. No one but him knew the real reason he’d committed himself to the sport all these years. He’d come too far now to walk away.

“You’re all the family Alex has left.”

“What am I supposed to do with a four-year-old?”

“He’s almost five.”

Hell, he couldn’t even remember his nephew’s birthday. “There’s no way they’ll grant me custody of a kid that age. I’m on the road every day and I live out of motel rooms and my pickup.”

“Temporary custody, Vic. Only until they find a better place for Alex.” After a short pause Maria said, “Judge Hamel has already vouched for you. CYFD is waiting for you to pick up Alex.”

Vic glanced longingly at the motel door, wishing he could crawl into bed with Tanya and forget all the ugliness that existed in the world—his world. He closed his eyes, and his mother’s face flashed through his mind. She’d brought him into the world and she’d made him pay for it every day. He believed he’d finally put her and the barrio behind him for good, but her drug addiction was a stark reminder that he could never outrun who he was.

“Come to the ranch,” Maria said. “Riley surprised me with a trip to Hawaii and we leave tomorrow, but you and Alex are welcome to stay in the main house. Alex will enjoy playing with the twins and Cruz’s daughter, Dani.”

Vic had a string of rodeos he needed to compete in to pad his earnings and secure a spot in this year’s NFR. As for bunking down at Maria and Riley’s place—no way.

“Judge Hamel’s working with CYFD to find Alex a home by the end of August at the latest.”

“Alex will have to come on the road with me.” Vic’s mother had made his life miserable for so long, and he refused to let her latest drug relapse rob him of his goal.

“If you’re determined to keep rodeoing, then drop Alex off here. I’m sure Cruz’s wife, Sara, will be happy to look after him until Riley and I return.”

Sara might be fine with the arrangement, but he doubted Cruz would approve—not after Vic’s family had brought him nothing but trouble. “I can swing it if it’s only for a few weeks,” he said.

“I’m glad to hear you say that. I knew you’d do the right thing.”

Doing the right thing should help Vic feel better, but all it did was make him detest his mother more. “Where do I find Alex?”

“When you arrive in Albuquerque, call Judge Hamel and she’ll give you the address of the group home where Alex is staying. I’ll text you Judge Hamel’s number in case you don’t have it.”

“Sure.”

“Victor?”

“What?”

“Judge Hamel said she’d let me know when and where they find your mother.”

Right now he couldn’t care less if they ever found his mother. “Thanks.”

“I’m sorry, Vic.”

He disconnected the call. A few seconds later his phone beeped with a text message—Judge Hamel’s phone number.

He glanced between the room door and his phone. He wanted so badly to stay with Tanya. Maybe it was a good thing he’d gotten the call now about Alex. At least he could walk away from her, before all his problems caused her grief. He climbed to his feet and went to the motel office, where he paid for another day—in case Tanya didn’t wake up before the checkout time.

Then he returned to the room and fumbled his way in the dark to the nightstand, where he scribbled a note on the pad of paper and left it along with fifty dollars in cash to catch a cab to the fairgrounds. This wasn’t how he wanted to part ways with Tanya, but maybe it was best she learn now that she was better off without him.

He set the key card next to the note, turned the lock on the door and left.

* * *

TANYA GOT OUT of the cab behind the fairgrounds near the livestock pens. Most of the animals had been loaded and hauled off except for a handful of horses used by the rodeo workers. She paid the driver, then shut the door and went over to the corral where Slingshot munched on hay. He didn’t look her way when she called his name. Go figure—he hadn’t missed her at all.

“About time you showed up to get your horse.” A man walked out from behind a flatbed trailer loaded with leftover hay bales from the rodeo.

“I had some business to take care of,” she said, refusing to think about Victor abandoning her at the Sweet Dreams Inn. The cab fare he’d left for her was a slap in the face.

“I’ll get him loaded ASAP.” She walked across the lot, each step pounding into the pavement harder than the previous. She’d never been more humiliated and hurt in her life. When would she learn that rodeo cowboys were all the same? The bigheaded lugs only cared about their next ride.

She’d been a fool to believe last night had meant anything to Vic. That she’d meant something to him. She hopped into her pickup, then backed up to the corral gate and opened the trailer doors. “Mind if I take a few of those bales off your hands?” It would save her time if she didn’t have to stop at a feed store. Besides, the sooner she left Utah, the better.

“Take as much as you want. The rest is going to the humane society.” He motioned to Slingshot. “You need help?”

“No, thanks.” She entered the corral. “C’mon, big guy.” She took his lead rope, surprised when he followed without protest. Once he was secure in his trailer stall and she’d loaded the hay, Tanya took off.

Moriarty, New Mexico, was ten hours away and she had two days to get there. She’d contacted a mobile-home park weeks ago and received permission to use one of their pads to park the truck and horse trailer. They had public showers, free Wi-Fi, a washateria and, according to the owner, an acre of grass for Slingshot. The daily rate was more than she’d budgeted, but she needed to do her laundry.

If the camping site was a hellhole, then she’d call one of her stepfather’s friends in the area and ask if she could camp out on their property for a day or two. She was nothing if not organized and she’d mapped out an entire season of rodeos after the first of the year. But the one thing she hadn’t planned on was Victor Vicario taking off on her before she woke up.

She hadn’t gone to the motel room with him expecting anything to come of their night, but she’d held out hope their time together might turn into a... Relationship wasn’t the right word, because Vic was a loner. Fling maybe? She and Victor were bound to cross paths from time to time the remainder of the summer and she’d hoped they’d become friends—friends with benefits. She hadn’t realized how lonely she’d been since she joined the circuit.

For the millionth time she went over the events of last night in her head but couldn’t figure out what she’d done or hadn’t done that had caused Vic to bolt without saying goodbye.

Maybe he was worried you’d make last night out to be more than just sex.

She couldn’t remember every word they’d whispered to each other in the dark, but she was certain she’d never uttered anything threatening like I love you.

Her brain told her to move on, but her heart wasn’t ready to give up hope. There had to be a reason he left in a hurry, but they didn’t exchange phone numbers, so she had no way of getting in touch with him. Maybe it was best if they didn’t run into each other for a while. By the time they crossed paths again, she might be ready for his apology.

* * *

“THANK YOU FOR getting here as soon as you could, Mr. Vicario,” Renee Leonard said as she searched through the folders on the desk.

He would have arrived an hour ago if he hadn’t first had to stop by the police station and speak with the cop investigating his mother’s disappearance. Officer Darrel Andrews claimed a neighbor phoned 911 at 10:00 p.m. to report a little boy walking alone in the parking lot. When the cops arrived, they discovered his mother’s apartment door wide-open. There were no signs of a robbery and Officer Andrews believed Vic’s mother might have taken off sometime the day before, but Alex wasn’t talking to anyone. Vic wasn’t surprised his nephew refrained from speaking—the kid must have been terrified at being left alone in the apartment.

Andrews said he’d be in touch as soon as they had any new information, but considering his mother’s history of drug abuse, it was anyone’s guess what had happened to her. He shouldn’t even think it, but the thought crossed his mind anyway—it was probably better for Alex if his grandmother was never found.

“Before I have Martha bring Alex into my office,” Renee said, “I wanted to go over a few things with you. Are you considering applying for legal custody of Alex?”

Legal custody? “No.” Vic had nothing to offer a kid like Alex. He’d step up and do his duty until they found a proper foster home for his nephew but nothing more.

“Alex is experiencing a lot of different emotions and you shouldn’t take his actions or reactions to you personally. Just let him express himself however he feels comfortable. In a few weeks you need to get him to a therapist who will help him process his feelings. I’m sure he’s wondering where his grandmother is and why she left him.”

This sounded like a lot more than just babysitting the kid for a short while.

“If you’re worried about the cost of therapy, the state will cover his sessions. There’s a clinic that works with children right down the street from here.” Renee handed him a business card.