Page 142 of Cowboy Daddies

As I’d been doing for the past month, I refused to allow myself to dwell in that cesspool and instead expanded my list to include corn chips, bean dip I could scoop straight from the can, more soda, and fig bars as I’d eaten the last of those the night before. And, of course, that would require I make sure to find some cute plastic clips to keep all those lovely bags securely closed. I could actually picture Roland’s jaw clenching as his blood pressure rose and…

Cesspool alert!

I nodded a silent thanks to my inner self and I washed my hands and dried them on the seat of my overalls as excitement filled me. I’d begun transferring my mental shopping list to paper during breakfast and once I’d added the new items, I headed out the door for my first trip to town. The county road I’d taken to Grammie O’s branched off those leading to Tumbling Falls so I’d yet to see if the town proper was anything like I remembered.

After hopping down the porch steps, I paused for a moment to lift my face to the sun, smile and shout, “Look out Universe, here I come!” Once in my car, I tucked the list into an empty cup holder and started the car. The day was far too gorgeous to keep outside so I rolled down the windows and let the breeze blow through my hair. I began to hum as I turned onto the dirt road that led to town. With any luck, I’d have all my shopping done in an hour and have the first coat of paint on the hives before lunchtime.

Of course, that was before I ran off the road in a plume of dust and a squeal of brakes.

Chapter Five

Lincoln

I’d called it correctly. I hadn’t been asleep for more than two hours before I was dragging my sorry ass out of bed again.

“Look at it this way,” Luther said as he simultaneously slapped a pair of gloves in one of my hands while pressing a mug of coffee into my other. “Our family will be increased by a little girl or boy by morning.”

I looked at him as if he had sprouted a second head. “Were you fucking asleep when Dad was giving the ‘talk’?”

The question had him grinning. “Are you kidding? Don’t you remember how much fun it was watching him getting all red in the face and flustered? No way would I miss that!”

Though I had to agree, I was still so tired my bones screamed for me to get horizontal again. Besides, I wasn’t going to give him an inch or he’d take a few miles. “Hate to break it to you, but if your definition of a little one joining our family means a calf, then you must have taken a catnap during the vital parts.”

He chuckled and slapped my hat on top of my head. “Nope, those were the best parts. I can still remember how he almost swallowed his tongue when we started asking questions and I’m not talking about birth control.”

When his eyebrows began to wag up and down, I chuckled. “Yeah, that was a moment for sure.”

We’d been raised on the ranch and knew all about reproduction before we were in kindergarten. Now about to enter high school, we simply gave the occasional nod as if our father was revealing the secret of the universe. As teenagers we’d thought we were way ahead of the game. When he finished, he’d looked at both of us and asked, “Any questions?”

Oh yeah, I’d had a few and none were about the mechanics. Dad hadn’t seemed concerned when Luther had asked if there was a brand of rubbers he’d recommend—"ones without holes unless you’re ready to be a parent”—was our father’s answer by the way.

But he’d been puzzled when I’d asked where the best place would be to start my collection of toys.

“Toys?”

“You know, like paddles and ropes⁠—”

“Ropes? Son, you do understand I’m talking about women and not livestock, right?”

I’d ignored my brother who was having a difficult time not chortling like the annoying rooster who ruled the chicken coop.

“I’m not talking about farm implements, Dad,” I’d said, “I’m talking about the toys real men use to keep their girl interested and, well, you know… satisfied.”

Luther had jumped up to slap his hand in the middle of Dad’s back when he’d stared at us with eyes wider than an owl’s while our mother had simply strolled in to hand him a glass of water.

“I told you we needed thicker walls, Liam,” she’d said and then strolled right back out of the living room again.

After Dad had drained the glass and told Luther to quit beating on him, he’d looked at us for a long moment, straightened his shoulders, and then spent the next hour making sure we understood the differences between fucking and loving. How to be a protector of women versus using them. How keeping them satisfied had more to do with what we did outside of sex than the actual act itself. It was a far more educational lecture and one we’d both taken to heart. Our course in sex education ended with my dad pinning me to the couch when I’d started to stand.

“Whatever you decide on, do not embarrass yourself or your mother and go into town to shop. Order your toys online. At least that way, they’ll come in plain brown paper and no one need be the wiser. Understood?”

“Sure, Dad,” I’d assured him flippantly, the memory of seeing several such packages on our front porch over the years blooming in my head.

He’d leaned forward and wrapped his fingers around my thigh and shook his head. “This town might be far more accepting than most, but if you ignore every other damn thing I’ve said, remember this. I guarantee the quickest way for a real man to lose the respect of any woman he loves is to embarrass her in public. Do. You. Understand. Me. Son?”

It had been my turn to swallow hard. “Yes, sir, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be a jackass.”

It wasn’t so much his grip or even his stare that had imprinted into my soul as much as it was the sight of my mother standing in the threshold of the door leading into the kitchen. Her eyes shone and a smile played at her lips, her expression one so full of love for her husband that I understood that while I might be taking steps into becoming a man, my father had been one for decades.