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Blaecleah Brothers 5

Cowboy Up

Ruben is now a fully fledged Blaecleah, adopted by Ma and Da,
and he loves living out at the ranch. But it's not enough to keep

him home when he loses his heart to Elijah James, the family's
attorney, and a man too afraid to come out of the closet to claim
him.

After traveling the world for three years, Ruben is finally ready to
return home, but he's not coming back alone. Widowed and the

father of a small baby, Ruben hopes that he has grown up enough
for Elijah James to take interest in him because this time, he's

playing for keeps.

Elijah James wanted Ruben since the moment he met the man,

but the anguish of losing someone he loves still has a hold of
Elijah and he's not ready to put his heart, or the fact that he loves
men, on the line for everyone to see. He learned the hard way to

keep his desires to himself.

When the past comes back to tear the Blaecleah family apart, will

his love for Ruben be enough to pull Elijah from the closet, or will
he be too scared of losing again to cowboy up?

Genre: Alternative (M/M or F/F), Contemporary,
Western/Cowboys
Length: 39,510 words

COWBOY UP

Blaecleah Brothers 5

Stormy Glenn

EROTIC ROMANCE

MANLOVE

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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Erotic Romance ManLove

COWBOY UP
Copyright © 2012 by Stormy Glenn
E-book ISBN: 1-61926-379-3

First E-book Publication: March 2012

Cover design by Jinger Heaston
All cover art and logo copyright © 2012 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be
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All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance
to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com

Letter to Readers

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Regarding E-book Piracy

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COWBOY UP

Blaecleah Brothers 5

STORMY GLENN

Chapter 1

“Elijah, I wonder if we could get a moment of your time.”
Elijah James glanced up from the legal papers on his desk to see

Quaid and Matthew Blaecleah standing in his doorway. He smiled in
greeting as he stood up and walked around his desk to shake both
men’s hands.

“Of course,” Elijah replied. “I always have time for one of the

Blaecleahs. What can I do for you gentlemen today?” Elijah glanced
beyond the two men to see the sun setting beyond the mountains.
“This evening, I mean.”

“Burning the midnight oil again?” Quaid chuckled.
Elijah shrugged as he glanced back at the papers on his desk. He

didn’t have anything better to do. “There never really seems to be an
end to the paperwork.” He smiled ruefully as he looked back at the
two men. “Unlike in the movies, lawyers actually spend more time
doing paperwork than in court.”

“Then I’m afraid we’re just going to add to your workload.”

Quaid held up the large manila envelope in his hand. “We need you to
look over some papers and make sure everything is on the up-and-up
before Ma and Da sign them.”

Cowboy Up

“Of course.” Elijah took the envelope and opened it, pulling the

papers out as he walked around his desk and sat back down. “Please,
have a seat.”

It took Elijah a few minutes to go over the paperwork, but

everything seemed relatively straightforward. Donnell and Alani
Blaecleah wanted to purchase ten acres of land on the west side of
their ranch. The price had been agreed upon by both the seller and
buyer. Except for the signatures of everyone involved, everything was
aboveboard.

“Hey, Elijah,” Matty said, “I really appreciate you staying late to

do this. We needed these papers taken care of as soon as possible.”

Elijah smiled as he looked up from the papers he was working on

and across his desk at Matty. “It’s no problem, Matty. I’m happy to
help.” He quickly looked back down at the papers. It was always hard
to look at Matty. The man looked so much like his younger brother,
Ruben.

Elijah sighed and tried to get the mental image of Ruben

Blaecleah out of his head. Matty had married Quaid, and the
Blaecleah family had legally adopted his brother Ruben. Elijah knew
it wouldn’t do him much good to think of Rueben. It seemed he had
been thinking about the man for as long as he knew him. Still, he
needed to concentrate on his job, and then maybe he could go find the
nearest bottle. It had worked in the past, and he prayed it continued to
numb him now.

“Everything seems to be in order,” Elijah said. “If you’ll have

your folks come in tomorrow, we can get these signed and notarized.
Once the papers are filed with the courthouse, the sale should be final
within thirty days.”

“Yes!” Matty pumped his fist into the air.
“Well, you certainly seem excited.” Elijah grinned when Matty

practically bounced in his seat. The man’s excitement was contagious.
Elijah just didn’t understand it. It was a simple purchase of some land
next to the Blaecleah ranch.

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“I am.”
Quaid Blaecleah chuckled from beside his partner. He reached

over and patted Matty’s leg. “I think we’re all a little excited.”

Elijah frowned. He pulled his glasses off and set them on the desk

as he stared at the two lovers in confusion. “Over the purchase of ten
acres of land?”

“No,” Matty said as he smiled happily. “Ruben is coming home.”
Elijah swallowed hard before he could speak. “Ru–Ruben is

coming home?” He could barely get the words past his lips. Ruben
was coming home. Elijah didn’t know whether to be excited or
freaked out. Both were a very real possibility.

Ruben was coming home.
Damn.
“That’s what the ten acres are for,” Quaid said. “Ma and Da

wanted to give him some land to build a house on.”

Elijah frowned as he glanced down at the paperwork again. “This

land is quite a ways from the main ranch,” he said as he looked up at
the two men one more time. “Don’t all of you boys usually build your
houses right next to each other?”

“Usually, yes,” Quaid replied right before his eyes cut to Matty.

They stared at each other for a moment before Matty nodded. Elijah’s
heart began to thunder in his chest when Quaid looked back at him.
“Ruben needs a bit more room than the rest of us. He’s bringing his
family home with him.”

* * * *

He’s bringing his family home with him. Elijah was half of the

way through a bottle of whiskey, and he still couldn’t get those words
out of his head. Ruben was bringing his family home with him. Ruben
had a family.

And it wasn’t Elijah.

Cowboy Up

Elijah took another large gulp from the bottle of whiskey. He’d

given up drinking it out of a cup hours ago. Straight from the bottle
was so much quicker. He planned to get rip-roaring, rug-sucking
drunk—twice. He wanted to forget he had ever heard the name
Ruben.

It wasn’t fair that one man could be so fucking perfect. Ruben was

sex on a stick. He’d starred in every one of Elijah’s fantasies from day
one. And now he was coming home with a family.

Elijah leaned his head back against the headrest on his chair.

Maybe it was time to think about relocating. Cade Creek had been
lonely enough when he first moved here. Ruben’s arrival and Elijah’s
inability to be with the man only made it worse. Ruben leaving town
had made it a nightmare that Elijah slowly grew used to. But he didn’t
think he could handle watching Ruben go about town with a family in
tow.

Even he wasn’t that strong.
Elijah sighed and took another gulp of the amber liquid. He

coughed when it went down roughly and burned his throat then leaned
forward and set the bottle on the coffee table. It wasn’t helping. He
still couldn’t get Ruben’s image out of his head. The man haunted
him.

It was going to be torture being around Ruben. Elijah had never

wanted another man more than he wanted Ruben Blaecleah, not even
Thomas, and they had been together almost five years before Thomas
was taken from him.

Elijah reached over and grabbed the small framed picture of him

and Thomas off the side table. He leaned back into the chair and ran
his fingers over Thomas’s face. They had been so happy in that
picture. Who knew their lives would be forever changed not more
than a month later?

A gay bashing that had gone horribly wrong. That’s what they

called it. Most people had given their condolences, outraged that

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something so atrocious could happen in this day and age. Others said
they deserved it for the immoral life that they lived.

Elijah just knew that Thomas had been taken from him because

they were gay and in love. The terror of that night had shoved Elijah
right back into the closet Thomas had worked so hard to get him out
of. Elijah didn’t deny that he was gay when asked. He couldn’t
dishonor Thomas’s memory that way. But he didn’t flaunt it either.

And therein lay his issue with Ruben.
After years of hiding who he was from everyone, even his own

brother, Ruben had come fully out of the closet. And he wanted Elijah
to be out of the closet with him. Hell, Elijah was pretty sure Ruben
would have danced down the middle of Main Street in a rainbow-
colored flag if he had his way.

Elijah didn’t even own anything in rainbow colors. He owned

dark suits and a few pairs of jeans. He knew he was somewhat
straitlaced, but he had learned to be that way to keep others from
discovering his deepest, darkest secrets. His suits were his armor
against the world.

He hadn’t been ready to give up that armor three years ago when

Ruben expressed interest in him, and he wasn’t ready to do it now—
no matter how much he ached for Ruben Blaecleah.

He still remembered the sweet innocence mingled with eager

curiosity that had sparkled in Ruben’s eyes when they met. Ruben had
been a breath of fresh air, and he had blown into Elijah’s world like a
hurricane, tearing down every last one of Elijah’s defenses.

Elijah hadn’t been brave enough three years ago to take Ruben up

on his fumbled attempts at flirting, and he wasn’t brave enough to do
it now. Yep, relocating was looking better and better.

Except, he loved Cade Creek. The town was small and the people

wonderful. They said hi and waved as they walked down the street.
They pitched in when a member of the community needed help. They
went out of their way to make newcomers feel welcome.

Elijah would miss it.

Cowboy Up

Chapter 2

Ruben swallowed past the tears that clogged his throat as he

pulled into the driveway of the Blaecleah ranch. It was good to be
home. He had missed the ranch more than he thought he would when
he left three years ago. He had missed the people that lived there even
more.

In the last couple of years, Ruben had been around the world. He

had seen sights he would never forget—the pyramids of Egypt,
Stonehenge, the Eiffel Tower. He’d even seen the ruins of Machu
Picchu

in Peru. But nothing looked as good to him as the houses he

saw nestled together as he drove up the driveway through the light
snow covering the ground.

He grinned when he saw the front door open before he even

pulled his rented car to a stop. The crowd that piled out of the house
onto the front porch was huge by most people’s standards. To Ruben,
it represented something special.

“We’re home, sweetie.”
Ruben turned the car off and climbed out, closing his door and

going to the backseat before he even waved to the people waiting for
him. He opened the back door and smiled, leaning in to unbuckle his
surprise.

Ruben had called and said he was coming home. He told Ma that

he was bringing his family home, but he hadn’t gone into specifics.
He wanted it to be a surprise. From the soft gasp he heard when he
lifted the small baby out of the backseat, he had achieved his goal.

“Are you ready to meet your grandparents?” he asked as he tucked

the blanket around the baby in his arms. He glanced up at the porch,

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noting the astonished looks on everyone’s faces. “They sure look like
they are ready to meet you.”

Ruben tucked the baby into his chest to keep her protected from

the cold weather then slowly walked up toward the family waiting for
him. He paused at the bottom of the steps and looked up.

“Damn, it’s good to see you.”
“Ruben, watch your mouth!” Ma admonished even as she stood

on her tiptoes and tried to peek at the bundle in Ruben’s arms.

“Yes, ma’am.” Ruben grinned. God, he had missed that voice,

even when he was in trouble. No one had ever loved him like Alani
Blaecleah. He raised the baby up just a little but not enough to wake
her. “Hey, Ma, I brought you something from overseas.”

Ruben watched as Alani Blaecleah’s eyes watered when she took

the small bundle from his arms. A smile worked its way across her
lips as she gently pulled the edge of the blanket back to reveal the
baby’s pert little face.

“Oh, Ruben, she’s darling.”
Ruben smiled, feeling his own tears gather in the corners of his

eyes. After everything he had been through, all the horrors he had
seen, it was good to finally see his daughter in his mother’s arms. And
Alani Blaecleah was his mother as far as he was concerned. He didn’t
care that he was adopted by the Blaecleah family at the tender age of
twenty-two. They were his family.

“Ma, I’d like you to meet your granddaughter, Alani Blaecleah.”
Ma’s head snapped up as her mouth dropped open. “You named

her after me?”

“I couldn’t think of anyone I wanted to name her after more than

you, Ma.” Ruben chuckled nervously as he waited to see what her
reaction would be. “She might have a lot to live up to, but I think
she’ll grow into it.”

Ma let out a small cry, handed the baby to Da, and reached for

Ruben. “Thank you, Son.”

Cowboy Up

Ruben closed his eyes as he soaked in Ma’s sweet scent. It was a

smell he associated with home. And it had been so long since he had
felt like he had a place to call home. No matter where he was, nothing
felt more like home than the Blaecleah ranch.

“Welcome home, son.”
Ruben looked up to see Da beaming at him, Alani cradled

carefully in his large arms. “Hey, Da, it’s good to be back.”

Ma finally released Ruben only to turn and take the baby right

back from Da. Ruben chuckled when she ignored everyone on the
porch and started talking to the infant as she walked back into the
house.

“Well, that should keep her happy for awhile.” Da chuckled as he

watched the door close behind Ma. “At least ten or fifteen years.”

Ruben grinned and rocked on his heels. “I do aim to please.”
“Well, come inside and tell us how things have been, son. From

the looks of you and that baby, they’ve been mighty interesting.”

“Oh.” Ruben waved his hand back toward the car. “I need to get

the baby bag.”

“You can get it later.”
Ruben’s eyes widened. “You haven’t been around a baby in

awhile, have you?”

“I’ll get it, bro,” Quaid said as he patted Ruben’s shoulder. “You

go on in and get reacquainted with the family.”

Ruben nodded and turned back just in time to catch Matty in his

arms as the man jumped at him. He grunted in surprise and stepped
back from the force of it then closed his arms around his older
brother.

“Hey, Matty.”
“Ru!” Matty shouted.
Ruben winced. Matty was pretty damn loud, and he didn’t like a

lot of loud, not anymore. He squeezed his brother then stepped back
from him. “You look good. You look happy.”

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Matty’s eyes instantly gazed past Ruben’s shoulder as he smiled.

“I am happy.”

“I guess accepting Quaid’s proposal worked out well for you,

huh?” Ruben still couldn’t believe that Quaid Blaecleah had proposed
to Matty on the night they met. Granted, it had taken Matty a few
days longer to agree to marry Quaid, but it seemed to be working out
well for them both. He had never seen Matty looking happier.

“Yeah.” Matty grinned. “It was the best damn decision I ever

made.”

Ruben almost whimpered in envy. He wanted to have that same

look on his face that Matty did when looking at Quaid, or Lachlan did
when looking at Asa and Billy did when looking at Rourke. Hell,
every man that stood on the front porch had someone to look at like
that except Ruben and Seamus.

And didn’t that suck?
“I’d better head in and see if Ma needs any help.” Ruben forced a

smile that he didn’t really feel. He loved being back in the fold of the
Blaecleah family, and he had no intention of ever leaving again, but
sometimes it was hard to see how happy everyone was when he was
alone.

“Uh…” Matty frowned. “You said you were bringing your family

home.”

“I did,” Ruben replied. He knew there would be questions. He

expected them. He had even been ready to answer them. He just
didn’t realize how hard that would be. “I brought Alani home.”

“Where’s her mother?”
Ruben pressed his lips together for a moment as anguish

overcame him. He blinked several times to clear the tears from his
eyes before looking at his brother again. “Her mother was killed.”

“Are you serious?” Matty gasped.
“I wouldn’t joke about something like that, Matthew.”
“No, no.” Matty quickly shook his head. “I never thought you

would. I was just surprised, that’s all. You called and said you were

Cowboy Up

coming home with your family, and I thought—well, you said you
were gay, Ru, and—”

Ruben couldn’t help but smile over his brother’s embarrassment.

“I am gay, Matty.”

“Then how—” Matty’s lips snapped together.
“Come inside, all of you. A lot has happened, and I’d like to

explain it just once rather than several times.”

By the time Ruben stopped talking, Quaid had returned from the

car, baby bag in hand. Ruben took it from the larger man and slung it
over his shoulder. He sighed deeply, glancing back out over the ranch,
and then walked into the house.

The first thing Ruben saw when he walked in was the large tree

sitting in the corner decorated in colorful lights and Christmas
ornaments. Several colorfully wrapped presents sat under the tree,
some with bows, some without.

Ruben had forgotten that Christmas was coming soon. It wasn’t a

holiday he thought a lot about. Growing up, Christmas had been just
another reason for his father, the reverend, to parade them around in
front of his church as the good little family.

Things changed after church. His mother took a sleeping pill and

went to bed, and his father went to his study to polish off the better
part of his liquor cabinet. Ruben could remember his favorite present
as being not having to deal with his parents.

After leaving home, he hadn’t been in one place long enough to

really celebrate a holiday. That meant his experience with Christmas
was dismal at best, horrific at worst. Ruben knew that had to change
now that Alani was in his life. He wanted to give her every Christmas
he had ever missed. He wanted her to have the happy holiday
memories he hadn’t. He wanted everything for Alani.

“She’s just darling, Ruben.”
Ruben smiled as he glanced across the room. Ma sat in her chair,

Alani unwrapped from her blanket and cradled in her arms. “Yes, I’ve
thought so since the minute she was born.”

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“She has your hazel eyes.”
“And her mother’s black hair.”
Ma glanced up, a curious expression on her face. “And just where

is her mother?”

Again, Ruben felt anguish fill him. “Mahra was killed, Ma.”
“Killed?” Ma pressed her hand against her lips for a moment.

“Oh, Son, I’m so sorry.”

Ruben gave Ma a weak smile and moved further into the house,

walking over to sit in the chair next to her. He set the baby bag down
on the floor next to his chair. “If you get tired of holding her, just let
me know.”

“Son, your ma will never get tired of holding that baby.” Da

chuckled as he sat down on the other side of Ma. “You may never get
her back.”

Ruben smiled for real this time. “I could use the break. I don’t

think I’ve had a full night’s sleep in the last year.”

“It sounds like you’ve had a hard time of it, son,” Da said.
“It hasn’t been easy, but having Alani back home has been worth

it.” Ruben sat forward and rested his elbows on his knees, clasping his
hands together and letting them dangle between his knees. He
watched the rest of those there walk into the living room and sit
down.

It was time to fill them in on his life for the last three years. He

hadn’t told them much after he left town, just a postcard here and
there, the occasional letter, and phone calls every now and then.

“After I left Cade Creek, I wandered around for awhile. I wasn’t

really sure what I wanted to do with my life.” Ruben smiled. “And
then I met Mahra. She was working at a refugee camp in Ras Ejder on
the Libyan-Tunisian border in northern Africa.”

“Africa!” Matty exclaimed. “What in the hel”—his eyes darted to

Ma—“heck were you doing in Africa?”

Ma chuckled but didn’t lift her eyes from the baby.

Cowboy Up

“Traveling.” Ruben shrugged. “Trying to decide what I wanted to

do with my life.”

“Did you figure it out?” Da asked.
“In a manner of speaking. After meeting Mahra, and seeing what

she was trying to do, I decided to stay with her and help.” The corner
of Ruben’s mouth quirked up as he remembered the woman. “She
was amazing. She had such spirit. And she could talk anyone out of
medical supplies, food, or safe passage. I’m pretty sure she could
have given Ma a run for her money.”

Ruben chuckled when Ma just cocked an eyebrow at her. “You

would have liked her.”

“I’m sure I would have.”
“One night, the camp we were working in was attacked by rebels.

We lost a lot of people that night, refugees and aid workers alike. It
took us days to clean up and bury the dead.” Ruben glanced over at
the baby. “That’s how she got here.”

“I don’t understand,” Matty said. “How could the attack on a

refugee camp get you a baby?”

Ruben grimaced and glanced down at his hands. “Too much

whiskey and the need to be close to a living, breathing person.”

“Oh, Ruben,” Ma whispered. “Did you love her?”
“I loved her, but I wasn’t in love with her. I don’t think anyone

that met Mahra could help but love her. She was very special.” Ruben
smiled sadly. If only he had loved her, maybe things would have been
different. “She knew I was gay. After she found out she was pregnant,
she offered to let me out of it. She said she would give the baby up for
adoption. She wasn’t ready to be a mother.”

“I hope you dissuaded her of that idea,” Ma said sternly. “We do

not shirk our responsibilities because it might be a little
uncomfortable.”

“I think that some people are meant to have children and some

aren’t. Mahra loved children, but she was the mother of hundreds of
children that had no parents. She loved Alani, but she wasn’t ready to

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settle down with just one child. Her work was very important to her.”
Ruben hoped that the Blaecleahs wouldn’t think badly of Mahra for
not wanting to be a mother. He tried to convey that, but it didn’t
sound right when the words came from his mouth. “She—”

“Son, you’re right,” Da said. “Not everyone is cut out to be a

parent. That doesn’t make them bad people. It’s good that your Mahra
knew this. It’s the ones that aren’t cut out for it and do it anyway that
I have issue with.”

“Well, it may not have been the best decision I ever made, but I

married her.” Ruben grimaced. “Mahra knew how much I wanted
Alani, so she agreed to have her and give her to me. The day Alani
was born was one of the happiest I ever remember. Our plan was for
me to have Alani and raise her. I was going to just follow Mahra
around from camp to camp so we could all stay together but—”

“What happened?”
Ruben drew in a deep breath then let it out slowly. The next part

was the hardest for him. “We were in a caravan bringing medical
supplies back to the camp from the border when we were attacked.
Things went pretty crazy pretty fast. Mahra was shot trying to get
people to safety. She died in my arms.”

Ma sniffled and covered his mouth. Ruben reached over and

patted her arm. “It’s okay, Ma. She died doing what she loved. She
wouldn’t have wanted to go any other way.” Ruben looked back at his
family. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house. “Mahra made me
promise to bring Alani home and raise her here. After she died, I went
back to camp and got Alani and came home.”

“I’m glad you did, Son,” Da said. “This is a good place to raise a

child.”

Ruben smiled and nodded, dropping his head to stare down at his

hands as he clasped them together. “I’d like to bury Mahra here on the
ranch, if I can.” Ruben drew in a deep breath. “Her remains are being
shipped here.”

“Son,” Da said as he sat forward, “how long ago did Mahra die?”

Cowboy Up

“Ten days ago.”
“Ten days?” Ma snapped.
Ruben groaned when Alani’s face suddenly scrunched up and she

let out a cry that grew louder by the second. He quickly jumped to his
feet and grabbed the baby from Ma. Placing Alani against his
shoulder, he began pacing as he gently patted her back and made
nonsense noises to her.

Alani quieted after a moment and closed her eyes, fading back to

sleep. Ruben sighed in relief and turned back to find everyone staring
at him. “What?”

Ma chuckled. “You do that very well.”
“I’ve had a lot of practice.”
“She seems like a good baby.”
Ruben smiled. “She is. She just doesn’t like loud noises.”
“Sorry about that,” Ma said. “You just surprised me. I had the

impression that Mahra had passed away a few months ago.”

“No.” Ruben shook his head. “After she died, I just wanted to get

Alani and get back here. I had already lost Mahra. I couldn’t lose
Alani, too, and I knew this was the safest place in the world for her.”

Lachlan suddenly burst out laughing. “You do remember that this

is a ranch, right?”

Ruben frowned. “Yeah.”
“Then keep her out of the barn.”
“And off horses,” Matty added. “She could fall off.”
“She shouldn’t go down to the creek,” Quaid said.
“The forest might not be a safe place either,” Billy said.
“Geez.” Ruben blinked. “Maybe I should have kept her in Africa.”
“She’ll be fine,” Ma said as she stood up. “I raised all of you boys

on this ranch, and not a one of you is dead—yet.” Ma wagged a finger
at each man in the room. “That could change if you don’t mind your
manners.”

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Ruben grinned when every Blaecleah son swallowed hard and

replied, “Yes, ma’am.” His family would never change, and he would
be forever grateful for that.

“I think it’s time to get this little girl down for the night,” Ma said.

“Ruben, your room is still set up upstairs. I’ll have Da bring the cradle
down from the attic. Boys, go get your brother’s luggage out of the
car.”

Ruben laughed softly as Lachlan, Asa, Rourke, and Quaid jumped

up and hurried out of the house. Billy and Seamus followed Da up the
stairs. Ruben frowned as he glanced around the living room, just then
noticing that one of the Blaecleah brothers wasn’t present. “Where’s
Neason?”

“Oh, he’s with Brody at the church,” Matty said. “They’re helping

set up for a wedding.”

“Brody?” Ruben’s eyebrows shot up. “Isn’t he the minister that

married you?”

“He is. They built a place back in the trees, but between church

and the shop they never seem to be there.”

“They?”
Matty frowned. “Yeah, didn’t you get my letter? I sent it like two

years ago.”

“What letter?”
“Neason married Brody.”
“Neason’s married?” Geez, was he the only one not married?
“They never really discussed the specifics with me, but I guess

they met at Rourke and Billy’s wedding. They hooked up then, but
there was some sort of issue between them.” Matty shrugged.
“Whatever it was, it made Neason freak when Brody came out to talk
to him. He drove his truck into a tree and suffered a head injury.”

“Oh my god,” Ruben whispered. “Is he okay?”
“Oh yeah,” Matty replied. “He was blind there for awhile, but the

doctors were able to do surgery to give him back some of his sight.
He’ll never be a brain surgeon or anything, but he does okay. He has

Cowboy Up

to wear the thickest damn glasses I’ve ever seen, though. He’s blind
as a bat without them. And he’s not allowed to drive, so he goes
everywhere with Brody.”

“Damn.”
“Oh, he’s okay now.” Matty smiled. “In fact, I’ve never seen him

happier. Brody seems to be exactly what Neason was looking for. I
swear the two of them are never more than two feet apart.”

“I’ve missed so much.”
“Well, you’re home now,” Matty said as he patted Ruben’s

shoulder. “That’s all that matters.”

“And I don’t ever plan on leaving again.”
Matty’s eyes widened. There was a hesitant look of hope in their

coppery depths. “Do you mean that?”

“I do, Matty,” Ruben said. “I’m home for good.”

Stormy Glenn

Chapter 3

The one moment in time that Elijah hoped would never come had

arrived. He stood on the sidewalk outside of Cade Creek’s café,
watching through the window as the one man he hoped to avoid
waved at him.

This was so not happening. It couldn’t be happening. Elijah had

done everything in his power to avoid Ruben and every single
Blaecleah in the area since learning of Ruben’s return. It was coming
around to bite him in the ass.

Elijah nodded at Ruben, acknowledging his greeting, and then

forced himself to turn away. If he didn’t, he was afraid he might
plaster himself against the window like a rabid teenager so he could
get a better look at the man.

Ruben Blaecleah had filled out and in all the right places, even if

he did look a little on the thin side. What used to be the lean body of a
barely legal young man was now the hard-muscled, toned body of a
man in his midtwenties. Elijah was even pretty sure Ruben had grown
a few inches. He looked nothing like he had when he left Cade Creek
three years ago.

He looked better.
Damn.
“Hey, Elijah.”
Elijah’s eyes closed briefly when he heard his name being called

out. He considered not stopping. The urge to keep on going was
strong, but so was the need to turn and look at the man he’d been
dreaming about for ages.

Cowboy Up

Elijah drew in a deep breath then turned around, plastering a small

smile on his face. “Hey, Ruben, I heard you were coming back to
town.”

“Yeah, I’ve been back for a few days.” Ruben had his hands

shoved in his pockets, and he seemed to be doing his utter best to
avoid Elijah’s eyes while not looking like he was doing it. “I was
wondering if you had a few minutes.”

“Uh.” Elijah racked his brain as he tried to figure out an excuse to

escape. Panic started to set in when he couldn’t think of anything. “I
really need to be getting back to the office. I have some paperwork to
finish up before the end of the day.”

“Oh, well, then could I—”
Elijah’s jaw dropped when Matty walked out of the café with a

screaming infant in his arms. Matty quickly handed the baby off to
Ruben.

“Sorry, bro, but she won’t calm down.”
“It’s past her naptime,” Ruben said as he settled the small baby

against his shoulder and started patting her back. “She always gets a
little cranky if she doesn’t get her beauty sleep.”

“Well, it’s not like it will harm her to miss a few winks.” Matty

chuckled quietly as the baby calmed down and started sucking on her
tiny fist. “She’s already too cute for words.”

“You’re her uncle,” Ruben replied. “You’re biased.”
Matty stuck his tongue out at Ruben.
“Now who’s the child?” Ruben rolled his eyes. He waved back

toward the café. “Just go inside and get me the chest carrier.”

Matty blinked. “The what?”
“That carry thing I had Alani in earlier, the one that straps to my

chest.”

“Oh, that.” Marty twirled around and walked into the café.
Elijah couldn’t help but look at the small bundle in Ruben’s arms

when the man turned back to face him. “You have a baby?” he
whispered.

Stormy Glenn

“Yeah.” Ruben smiled when he looked down at the baby. “This is

my daughter, Alani. I named her after Ma.”

“What about her mother?” Elijah didn’t really want to know about

the woman, but he couldn’t keep the words locked behind his lips.
“Where is she?”

The sadness that came into Ruben’s eyes when he looked back up

nearly brought Elijah to his knees. Ruben loved someone else. He
could see it in the sheen of tears that filled Ruben’s eyes.

“Mahra died two weeks ago.”
“And that’s why you came home?”
“Before she died, Mahra made me promise that I would bring

Alani home and raise her here.”

His half-baked plan to leave Cade Creek and move somewhere

else was looking better and better to Elijah. He knew that he had held
out a small sliver of hope that Ruben had come back because of him.
Well, that had just been blown out of the water.

Elijah cleared his throat. “I’m sorry to hear that, Ruben. You have

my condolences.” Was there anything stupider to say to someone that
had lost a loved one? Elijah felt tongue-tied, like he couldn’t string
two coherent words together, let alone two intelligent thoughts.

“Thank you.”
“It was nice seeing you again, Ruben.” Elijah pointed his thumb

over his shoulder as he began backing away. “But I really need to get
back to the office. Maybe we can catch up another day.”

Elijah heard Ruben call out to him as he spun around and took off

down the street, but not even a locomotive would have stopped him
from walking away. Ruben held the proof of his love for someone
else in his arms.

Elijah couldn’t compete with a living, breathing representation of

the woman Ruben had loved. And he wasn’t stupid enough to try. He
was going to walk to the nearest bar and drown his sorrows in as
much alcohol as he could get his hands on. And tomorrow, he’d start
looking for a new town to move to.

Cowboy Up

* * * *

“Ah, come on, Fred, jus–just one more?” Elijah whined as he

waved his glass at the bartender.

“Hell, no!” Fred snapped. “I’m going to have to pour you into a

cab as it is.” Fred grabbed the glass out of Elijah’s hand slammed it
down on the bar. “You’re not getting another drink, Elijah.”

“Fine.” Elijah burped and blinked his eyes as Fred’s fuzzy form

blurred and became two men instead of one. “I’ll…I’ll just…just go
to a”—burp—“a bar down the street.”

“Damn it, Elijah, if you—”
“I have this, Fred.”
Elijah’s head rolled on his shoulders as he turned to see who was

talking. “Ru,” he whispered. Burp. Elijah chuckled as he covered his
mouth. “Tha–that’s what I get for drin–drinking rotgut whiskey.”

Elijah frowned when Ruben moved and disappeared. He glanced

around in confusion. Was he dreaming again? “Ru? Where’d ya go,
Ru?”

“I’m right here, sweetheart,” said a strong whisper from beside

him.

Yep, dreaming.
Elijah liked dreaming. In his dreams, Ruben was home where he

was supposed to be. He wasn’t off traipsing the world, finding other
people to love. He was here in Cade Creek, loving him.

“Ru, Ru, pretty, pretty Ru,” Elijah started to sing softly.
Ruben chuckled. “You are so going to hate yourself when you

sober up.”

“Don’t wanna be sober.”
“Looks like you got your wish then.”
Elijah’s eyebrows drew together again. “No, no, didn’t get my

wish.” He started to shake his head, but that just made the room spin

Stormy Glenn

faster—and it was already spinning really, really fast. Elijah grabbed
his head and groaned. Maybe this hadn’t been such a good idea.

“Come on, sweetheart, let’s get you home.”
Elijah blinked again and raised his head. “Will you come home

with me, Ru?”

“How about I drive you home, hmm?”
Elijah leaned into Ruben when he felt an arm wrap around his

waist. He tilted his head up and inhaled deeply. Ruben smelled of
man and musk and…and…baby powder? Elijah mentally shrugged. It
was a nice combination, even if it was an odd one. He liked it.

“That was my wish, you know.”
“What was?”
“Al–always wished you’d come home with me.”
“Eli.”
Elijah smiled at the sound of that pet name on Ruben’s lips. No

one ever called him Eli except Ruben, not even Thomas. He had
missed hearing it. “Miss you, Ru.”

Elijah heard a soft sigh from beside him.
“I missed you, too, Eli.”
Elijah’s grin grew wider. He liked this dream. It was turning out

to be one of the better ones he had had. “Come home with me, Ru?”

“Eli.”
“Please?” Elijah wasn’t above begging his dream man. If all he

was ever going to have of Ruben were his dreams, he damn well
wanted them to be perfect.

“Let me get you home, and we’ll discuss it.”
Elijah grinned and started doing a little happy dance with his arms

and legs. “Pretty, pretty Ru is coming home with me.”

“Wow, man, you are so drunk.” Ruben chuckled.
Elijah held up his hand, his thumb and finger an inch apart. He

blinked then peered closer. Yep, they were just an inch apart. “I’m
just a little tip”—burp—“tipsy.”

Cowboy Up

“Sorry, honey, but you are way more than tipsy. You’re pretty

much blotto.”

“Nope, nope,” Elijah said. “Not bl–bl—” He frowned and turned

to look at Ruben. “What’s blotto?”

“You.” Ruben laughed and shook his head. “Come on, let’s get

you home.”

Elijah was all too eager to follow along with Ruben as he was half

carried out of the bar to the car outside. He sat down in the car when
Ruben directed. When Ruben leaned over him to buckle him in, Elijah
couldn’t help but run his fingers through the man’s beautiful light-
brown curls.

“Always loved your hair, Ru.”
“Yeah?”
“It’s so soft,” Elijah said as he ran his fingers through a few

strands. “And it smells like you. I like how you smell, Ru.” The thick
strands were long and luxurious. Elijah wanted to bury his face in it.
He had dreams about it. “Want to bury my face in your hair and sleep
there all night long.”

Ruben suddenly squatted down beside the passenger seat. His

hand cupped the side of Elijah’s face. “Honey, you really have no
idea what you’re talking about.”

“Do, too.” Elijah’s eyebrows drew together as he grumbled. “Not

that drunk.”

“Yes, you are.” Ruben stood up, but he didn’t remove his hand

from the side of Elijah’s face. “You’d never say these things if you
weren’t drowning in liquid courage.”

Before Elijah could reply, or argue, Ruben stepped back and shut

the door. A moment later, he climbed into the driver’s seat and started
the car. “Do you still live in that little cottage down on Stewart
Street?”

“Yep.” Elijah nodded his head vigorously. Boy, that had been a

mistake. Everything in the car swerved around and then settled back
into place. He grinned when Ruben reached over and checked his seat

Stormy Glenn

belt. He tried to kiss the man, but Ruben moved away, leaving Elijah
sitting there with his lips puckered.

“Let’s get you home,” Ruben said as he started the car.
Elijah felt his stomach roll as the car pulled away from the curb.
“If you’re going to be sick, warn me,” Ruben said as he steered

the car through the streets. “This is a rental.”

Hell, Elijah hoped his own stomach warned him. He blinked a few

times as the snow fell softly around them. It was so pretty, just like
his Ru. He felt his head swim when Ruben cut a corner, pulling the
car to a stop in front of his house. At least he hoped it was his house.
Was it his house?

“Come on, Eli. Let’s get you inside,” Ruben said as he cut the

motor and climbed out, circling around the front of the car.

Elijah drank in the sight as he watched Ruben’s manly frame

saunter around the car. Had he ever seen a more gorgeous sight?
Nope, never. Never, never, never.

“You’re cute,” Elijah said as Ruben opened the passenger door.

Ruben grinned as he pulled Elijah from his seat and wrapped a strong
arm around his waist. Elijah leaned in to kiss his dream, but Ruben
pulled away. That wasn’t right. His dream wasn’t suppose to pull
away from him. He frowned as he stumbled to his front door.

“Keys?” Ruben asked.
“In my po–pocket. You can play pocket pool if you want,” Elijah

said and then giggled. Did he really just giggle? To hell with it. Elijah
didn’t think his dream would hold the giggle against him.

When Ruben reached into his pants to fish the keys out, Elijah’s

cock tried to follow the hand. He could hear a soft laugh coming from
beside him as he tried desperately to get Ruben to grab his hard shaft.

“You’re too drunk, Eli.”
Elijah shook his head back and forth, seeing the house swing back

and forth with his head. “Nope. I’m not”—burp—“scout’s honor.”

Ruben grinned, making Elijah melt on the spot. He had a stunning

grin, one that made the whole sky light up. “You’re cute.”

Cowboy Up

“Yeah, you told me, Eli,” Ruben said as he helped Elijah through

the front door. He tripped and would have fallen had Ruben not
caught him.

“My hero,” he sang.
Ruben chuckled as he helped Elijah to his bedroom. He fell to his

back when Ruben sat him on the bed. The room began to spin as he
rubbed a hand down his somber face. “Don’t leave me, Ru.”

“I’m not going anywhere.”
Elijah smiled as he felt Ruben remove his shoes. “You stripping

me?”

“You’ll thank me for this in the morning,” Ruben said as he

crawled onto the bed and pulled Elijah’s shirt off.

“What–What else am I going to be thanking you for?” Elijah

asked as he stared Ruben in his beautiful hazel eyes.

“Bringing you home and tucking you in, Eli.”
Elijah frowned. His dream Ru was supposed to have wild monkey

sex with him, not tuck him in. He grinned widely when he felt Ruben
tugging at his belt.

Oh yeah, he was going to get…

* * * *

Ruben smiled and shook his head as Elijah passed out cold. He

yanked the man’s pants off, leaving him in his boxers, and then pulled
him further up onto the bed. Once he had Elijah settled, Ruben
stripped down to his jeans and then grabbed his phone.

He crawled up next to Elijah as he dialed home. “Hey, Ma, I need

you to watch Alani for me tonight. Elijah’s had one too many, and I
need to stay here. I don’t feel right leaving him alone in his
condition.”

“You do what you have to, son. Alani is safe in my arms. No

worries.”

Stormy Glenn

Ruben smiled as he thanked his ma. He tossed his cell phone onto

the nightstand as he covered Elijah, staying on top of the covers as he
stretched out beside the man. He wondered how much of what Elijah
said was true. Did he really want Ruben the way he said he had? Did
he really miss him? It gave Ruben a sliver of hope as he wrapped an
arm around the man he had every intention of pursuing.

Cowboy Up

Chapter 4

Ruben blinked his eyes as Elijah stretched beside him. Was it

morning already? He glanced over his shoulder to see the early
morning light creeping into the bedroom. It felt like he had just closed
his eyes a moment ago.

Elijah stretched beside him again, grabbed his head, and then

tossed the covers aside. “Morning, Ru,” Elijah mumbled as he
stumbled to the bathroom.

“Good morning, Eli.” Ruben smiled as he watched the man he

loved in his boxers, trying desperately to get to the bathroom. He
could tell Elijah wasn’t a morning person.

Once the bathroom door closed, Ruben hopped up and shucked

his jeans and then sat with his back against the headboard, lacing his
fingers behind his head.

The bathroom door flew open just as he settled down. Elijah

appeared, a toothbrush hanging from his mouth as he stared at Ruben
with wide eyes. “Ruben?”

He chuckled as he nodded. “Were you expecting anyone else?”

Ruben slowly lowered his arms as the thought dawned on him. What
if Elijah had someone else? He never considered that possibility.
What if Elijah was in a committed relationship?

“There’s no one else,” Elijah confessed as he tossed the

toothbrush onto the counter, staring awkwardly at Ruben. The silence
stretched as Elijah fidgeted in the bathroom doorway.

“Come here, Eli,” Ruben said as he waved a hand toward the bed.

He couldn’t take the silence, or the fear that Elijah was going to reject
him like he had three years ago. He wanted to put a stop to any doubts

Stormy Glenn

Elijah had before they surfaced and ruined any plans Ruben had for
them.

Elijah took a hesitant step forward and then another, slowly

making his way back toward the bed. His eyes were locked onto
Ruben’s hard cock as he swallowed. “How—what are you doing
here?”

Ruben reached out and pulled at Elijah’s hand, making the man

stumble forward as he dropped down on the bed.

“I’m here for you,” Ruben confessed to the older man as he

tugged on Elijah’s hand, watching as Elijah crawled further onto the
bed. His eyes held hesitation, but his boxers were tented, giving
Ruben the perfect view. The only thing that would have made this
more perfect was if Elijah removed the underwear. Ruben was dying
to get his first glimpse at the man’s cock.

“I don’t understand,” Elijah said as he pulled himself all the way

onto the bed. To say he was nervous was an understatement. Ruben
had had sex only once, and that was with Mahra. He’d never
experienced sex with a man, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to let his
inexperience stop him. He knew what he wanted, and what he wanted
was staring up at him, the blue eyes swimming with uncertainty.

Ruben rolled, pinning Elijah underneath him. He ground their

cocks together as he felt Elijah’s skin rubbing up against his.

“Ruben, wait.”
Ruben stilled, gazing down at Elijah. “What am I waiting for?”
Elijah shook his head, but made no efforts to squirm away. As a

matter of fact, Elijah was trying to push into Ruben. The moves were
subtle, as if Elijah didn’t want Ruben to know he was doing it.

“I—” Elijah glanced down, biting his bottom lip. “I’m not out and

proud like you are.”

Ruben leaned forward, kissing Elijah’s eyelids. “Then we’ll work

on that,” Ruben said as he reached down between them and pushed
his hand past Elijah’s waistband of his boxers. He groaned when he
felt the hot, hard cock press into the palm of his hand.

Cowboy Up

Elijah’s hips jerked as his head tilted sideways. Ruben pressed his

lips against Elijah’s soft skin as he stroked his soon-to-be-lover’s
cock. He knew the mechanics and had done his research on gay sex.
Ruben had the knowledge. He just lacked the experience. He hoped
he didn’t hurt Elijah.

“Lube?”
Elijah nodded toward the nightstand. Ruben stretched over Elijah

as he opened the small drawer. He wasn’t sure he should be glad to
see condoms in there as well. Did Elijah use them often? He grinned
when he saw the box was brand new. Ruben grabbed the lube and the
box, tossing them on the bed beside them.

“Take your boxers off,” he said as he leaned back, giving Elijah

the room he needed. Ruben’s mouth watered as he watched Elijah,
gazing at the flesh that was bared to him. He couldn’t resist. Ruben
reached out and smacked Elijah’s ass.

“Hey!” Elijah said as he looked back at Ruben. “There will be

none of that.”

“Too bad,” Ruben teased. He liked seeing his own handprint on

Elijah’s ass. It was sexy. He pushed Elijah to his stomach, straddling
his thighs as he lubed his fingers and then tossed the bottle aside.

Ruben slowly pushed one finger in to the first knuckle. He stilled,

waiting to make sure he wasn’t hurting Elijah. When the man looked
over at Ruben like he was crazy, he smiled and pushed his finger the
rest of the way in. It felt better than his imagination had conjured up.
With just his finger inside Elijah, Ruben was about to orgasm. He had
dreamt of this moment for years.

Ruben slid his hand back and then slid another finger in beside the

first one. He watched in wonder as his fingers sank deep. He wanted
to see his cock do the same. But he wasn’t going to rush this. It was
their first time together, Ruben’s first time with a man, and he wanted
it to last.

He pushed a third finger in, watching Elijah’s body stretch for

him. Ruben had to bite his bottom lip. The sight was amazing. Elijah

Stormy Glenn

pushed back, groaning. Ruben felt ten feet tall. He was the one
making Elijah feel pleasure.

He removed his fingers, grinning when Elijah let out a noise of

protest. He smacked his lover’s ass again. Elijah shot a glare over his
shoulder, making Ruben chuckle. “But my handprint is so pretty on
your ass.”

Elijah grunted but didn’t say a word.
“Roll over,” Ruben commanded as he reached for the unopened

box of condoms. Elijah watched him as Ruben tore the wrapper apart
and then rolled the latex down his hard cock. He scooted close to
Elijah, grabbed him under his knees, and then pushed his legs back.
Ruben stopped for a moment to gaze down at Elijah’s puckered hole.
He couldn’t believe that after all this time he was finally going to sink
balls-deep inside the man.

“What?” Elijah asked, a veil falling over his eyes.
Ruben couldn’t have that. He lined his cock up and thrust deeply.
“Fuck!” Elijah shouted as Ruben stilled.
“Did I hurt you?” he asked as he ran a hand over Elijah’s smooth

stomach. His body was begging Ruben to move, but he had to make
sure Elijah wasn’t in any pain.

“No,” Elijah said as he wiggled his ass. “But now would be a

good time for you to move.”

Ruben grinned as he pulled back and then slammed forward.

Elijah shouted, but Ruben knew it was a shout of pleasure. His fingers
dug into Elijah’s knees as he looked down between their bodies and
saw his cock thrusting in and out of his lover’s tight ass. It was an
amazing sight, one Ruben wanted to see over and over again.

He pushed Elijah’s legs around his waist as he dropped to his

arms, staring his lover in his baby-blue eyes. Elijah tried to look
away, but Ruben caught his chin and brought it back around. He
leaned forward and kissed Elijah like his life depended on it. Elijah
groaned into his mouth as Ruben snapped his hips, feeling Elijah’s
body welcoming him.

Cowboy Up

“Make me come, Ru,” Elijah begged into Ruben’s mouth.
He reached between them, curling his fingers around Elijah’s

cock, and then started stroking it, matching his thrusts. Moments later,
Elijah’s back arched as he cried out into Ruben’s mouth.

Ruben growled as he fucked Elijah harder, wanting his own

release. He stiffened and shouted as his seed was pulled from his
body, exploding into Elijah’s ass. Spots danced in front of Ruben’s
eyes as he collapsed down on top of Elijah.

“My Eli,” he whispered as he stroked his hand over Elijah’s chest.

Elijah patted his arm, but Ruben felt the man’s body stiffen under his.
He tilted his head back and looked up into Elijah’s blue eyes, not
missing the quick way they darted away. “You’re mine now, Eli, and
I’m not letting you go.”

“I—I meant what I said, Ru. I’m not like you. I can’t—”
“Ssshhh.” Ruben reached up and pressed his finger across Elijah’s

lips. “We’ll work you into it slowly.”

“Ru—”
“I’m not giving you up, Elijah, even if I have to fight you to keep

you.”

Elijah’s forehead wrinkled as he frowned. “Well, that doesn’t

make sense.”

Ruben chuckled. “Sure it does.” Ruben scooted up until he could

lean over Elijah. He stroked his hand down the side of the stubble on
the man’s cheek. “I listened to you three years ago, and I went away
like you asked, but—”

All of the color drained from Elijah’s face as he stared up at

Ruben in horror. “You left Cade Creek because of me?” he
whispered.

“I knew if I stayed that I wouldn’t be able to stay away from you,

and that’s what you seemed to need at the time.”

“Oh, Ru, I—I—” Elijah’s eyes started to gleam in the low

morning light as they filled with tears. “I never—”

Stormy Glenn

“Elijah, it’s okay. I was upset when it happened, but I understand

why you did it. I needed time to grow up, and you needed time to
understand that you belong to me.” Ruben chuckled when Elijah’s
eyes bugged. “You do belong to me, sweetheart, and I’m not giving
you up. You need to accept that.”

“What if I said no?”
“I wouldn’t believe you.”
“Why not?”
“Because you were the one that begged me to come home with

you last night.”

Elijah’s mouth opened and closed several times like a guppy, then

snapped shut. His eyebrows drew down even more as he frowned.
“That didn’t mean anything. I was drunk.”

“Why are you fighting this so hard, Eli? You want me. You know

you do. Proof of that is poking me in the stomach even as we speak.”
Ruben grinned when Elijah’s face flushed and he quickly glanced
away. He grabbed Elijah’s chin and pulled his face back so he could
see Elijah’s expressive blue eyes. “And I want you, sweetheart.”

Elijah inhaled sharply. “What happened to that sweet, innocent

boy that I knew?”

“I had to grow up fast.” Ruben leaned down and gently kissed

Elijah. The man seemed to need the extra care right now. Elijah was
swimming in doubts. Ruben was not. He knew exactly what he
wanted, and he was lying in Ruben’s arms right now. “I’m still sweet,
but I can’t help you with the innocent part. You just took that.”

Elijah pushed him away and scooted up the bed so fast that Ruben

didn’t have time to stop him. When Ruben sat up, Elijah was leaning
back against the headboard, the sheet clutched in his white-knuckled
hands.

“Elijah?”
“Don’t lie to me, Ruben. If you want to fuck me, fine, but don’t

lie to me.”

“I’m not lying to you, sweetheart. I swear.”

Cowboy Up

“You have a child!” Elijah snapped. “And I sure as shit know I

didn’t get you pregnant in the last half hour.”

“No, Alani came about from witnessing too much violence and

too much sorrow. I needed to be close to someone, and so did Mahra.
It just kind of happened after too many bottles of whiskey. But she
was the only one, and it only happened that one time.”

“But you married her,” Elijah protested.
“Yes, I did, but I did it to get Alani.” Ruben sighed deeply at the

confused look on Elijah’s face. He sat forward and grabbed Elijah’s
hand between his. He knew Elijah needed a little bit of space at the
moment, but he needed some sort of contact. “The marriage was
never meant to be permanent, Elijah. We had divorce papers drawn up
right after Alani was born. We just hadn’t had a chance to file them
before Mahra was killed.”

“She was killed?”
Ruben swallowed and looked down to where their hands were

clasped together. “We were working as aid workers at a refugee camp
in North Africa. Our caravan was attacked, and Mahra was killed.”

“North Africa!” Elijah shouted as his face darkened. “Do you

know how dangerous that is? There’s a war going on up there. Are
you out of your fucking mind?”

“So you do care then?” Ruben was amused by how pissed off

Elijah was becoming.

“Of course I care,” Elijah snapped. “I lo—”
Ruben arched an eyebrow when Elijah’s face flushed and he

looked away, pressing his lips together. He wanted to shout to the
heavens with joy, but that in no way would prove to Elijah that he had
grown up.

Ruben leaned forward and pulled Elijah’s face around to his

again. He could see the fear and hesitation in the blue depths peering
back up at him. “I love you, too, Elijah James.”

“Oh, Ruben, I—” Elijah was slowly moving his head back and

forth.

Stormy Glenn

For a moment, Ruben wondered if he had imagined the love he

had seen in Elijah’s eyes. Maybe he had seen what he wanted to see,
what he longed to see. Elijah James was the sexiest-looking man in all
of Cade Creek. He could have anyone he wanted.

Ruben was a young, single father with an infant daughter, just

recently widowed. He had no job, no prospects for a job, and he lived
with his folks. He didn’t have anything to offer Elijah except
problems.

And one morning of scorching sex didn’t mean a lifetime

commitment. Maybe Elijah had really meant it three years ago when
he asked Ruben to leave him alone. Elijah might not be drunk this
morning, but after the amount of alcohol he had consumed the night
before, he certainly wasn’t operating on all thrusters.

His heart feeling heavy and his mind a confused jumble of

thoughts, Ruben dropped Elijah’s hand and started to move off the
bed. He wanted to get his clothes and get the hell out of there before
he looked like more of a fool then he already did.

“Where are you going?”
Ruben stared down at the hand on his wrist. He couldn’t think of

anything logical to say for a moment. I’m going home to lick my
wounds and try to mend my broken heart just didn’t sound right.

“Ruben?”
“I—”
Saved by the bell, or the cell phone anyway. Ruben heaved a huge

relieved sigh then reached over and grabbed his cell phone off the
nightstand. “Hello?”

“Ruben, son, you need to come home.”
“Ma? What’s wrong?” Ruben could hear the wobble in Ma’s

voice, a sound he had never heard uttered from her mouth before. “Is
Alani okay?”

“She’s fine, son, but you need to come home right now. Your

mother is here demanding to see her granddaughter.”

Cowboy Up

Ruben went from heartbroken to furious in the blink of an eye.

His fingers tightened around the cell phone in his hand as he growled.
“You are my mother. She is not. And I don’t want her anywhere near
my daughter.” He grabbed his pants and started pulling them up his
legs. “I’ll be home in a few minutes.”

“Just hurry, Son,” Ma said. “She’s very upset.”
“I don’t give a damn!” Ruben snapped the phone closed before

Ma could chastise him for swearing. He knew it was coming. His
movements were angry and jerky as he pulled his shirt over his head
then pulled his shoes on.

“Ruben, what in the hell is going on?” Elijah asked from behind

him.

“My birth mother has reared her ugly head. She’s demanding to

see Alani.”

“Uh, Ruben, I’m not sure she can do that.”
Ruben was pissed. He swung around to give Elijah a piece of his

mind, but his mouth dropped open when he saw the man pulling on a
pair of the tightest jeans he had ever seen in his life. They might as
well have been painted on. Ruben’s mouth suddenly felt dry as he
stared.

“What are you doing?” he whispered.
Elijah’s head snapped up. “I’m going with you.”
“Why?”
“I’m going with you because I’m a lawyer, damn it. Your lawyer

as of now.” Elijah stopped talking long enough to pull a white dress
shirt on and button it up. He started tucking it into his jeans as he
looked up at Ruben. “I’m not about to let anyone take that baby away
from you.”

“Us.” Ruben pressed his lips together as soon as the word slipped

past his lips. He knew he shouldn’t have said it as soon as he spoke
the word, but there was nothing he could do about it now.

“What?”

Stormy Glenn

“Nothing.” Ruben shook his head and grabbed his phone. If Elijah

hadn’t heard him, all the better. He shoved his phone into his pocket
and started for the door only to be pulled up short when Elijah’s hand
wrapped around his arm and pulled him to a stop. Ruben closed his
eyes and wished he was anywhere else but where he was.

“I want to know what you meant by that.”
“No, you don’t.” Ruben opened his eyes and pulled his arm

roughly out of Elijah’s grasp. “You’ve made your feelings more than
clear, Elijah. I was stupid to think that they might have changed in the
last three years.” He turned and looked at Elijah finally. He ignored
Elijah’s quick inhale as he stared at him. “I won’t forget again.”

Cowboy Up

Chapter 5

Elijah kept waiting for Ruben to say something to him as they

drove out of town toward the Blaecleah ranch, but the man said
nothing. Ruben wouldn’t even look in his direction. It was like Ruben
had cut Elijah out. Elijah didn’t like it.

“Ruben, are you going to ignore me all the way to the ranch?”
“Yes.”
Elijah rolled his eyes. “Ruben, you’re acting like a chi—”
“Like a child?” Ruben’s hazel eyes were narrowed to little slits

when they swung over to look at Elijah. “Actually, I think I’m acting
pretty damn mature for a man that just lost his virginity in a one-night
stand.”

“Lost your virgin—” Elijah’s eyebrows shot up. His ass ached

from being pounded into the mattress by Ruben, and expertly so. No
virgin fucked like Ruben did. Besides, he had a kid. That definitely
took the whole virgin thing off the table. “You’re out of your mind.”

“Yes, I imagine I am.” Ruben’s shoulders shrugged nonchalantly

as he looked back out the front window, but Elijah could see the
tension in them. “I actually thought you cared. I guess I got what I
deserved for believing in something that never existed.”

“Ruben, I do care but—”
“Fine, you care. Duly noted.”
Elijah banged his head back against the headrest. Talking to

Ruben was like trying to run through waist-deep molasses. He wasn’t
getting anywhere fast. “Ruben, you’ve had sex. Even you’ve admitted
you have. Technically, that means you are no longer a virgin.”

“Fine,” Ruben snapped. “I’m no longer a virgin.”

Stormy Glenn

Elijah’s hand gripped the edge of his seat, tightening as anger

filled him. He didn’t care what Ruben said. The man was acting like a
child. Elijah wanted to grab Ruben and bang his head against a wall—
a very hard wall.

“Ruben, this is ridiculous. You—”
Elijah yelped and grabbed the dashboard when Ruben suddenly

slammed on the brakes and the car fishtailed in the snow, coming to a
stop on the edge of the road. His eyes widened when he looked over
at Ruben to find the man staring at him with such a look of misery in
his eyes that Elijah could barely breathe. Had he ever seen so much
pain before?

“I am not going to discuss this with you, Elijah,” Ruben said

firmly. “I made a mistake, and now I’m paying for that. I get that. But
I will not allow you to push the knife in any further. If you can’t leave
me the hell alone, then you can get the fuck out of my car and walk
your happy ass back to town.”

Elijah swallowed hard. “Okay, Ruben.”
Ruben gave Elijah one last long stare then righted the car and

continued on down the road. Elijah turned to stare out the front
window, trying to figure out how their conversation had gone so
badly so quickly.

No matter what Ruben said, he wasn’t a virgin. Alani proved that

much. She was living, breathing proof of that. If Ruben’s experience
beyond his wife wasn’t much, that was fine. That’s all the man
needed to say. He didn’t need to lie about it. It wasn’t like Elijah
hadn’t had lovers in the past. He—

Elijah inhaled sharply when realization suddenly hit him like a

freight train. He turned to look at Ruben and almost cried out when he
realized that the misery he had seen in the man’s eyes was due to him.
And it was still there in every tense line of Ruben’s body.

“Oh, Ruben.”
“No,” Ruben snapped. His hands tightened around the steering

wheel, making a crinkling noise. “It is not up for discussion.”

Cowboy Up

“Ruben, please.”
Elijah once again grabbed the dashboard when Ruben slammed on

the brakes. He glared at Ruben. “You really have got to stop doing
that. Someone could be hurt.”

Ruben reached across him without looking at him and opened the

passenger door. “Get out!”

“No!” Elijah snapped right back as he slammed the door closed. “I

am not getting out of this car.”

“Fine.”
Elijah blinked in surprise when Ruben put the car into park and

simply climbed out. He rolled his eyes and scooted over to the
driver’s seat, putting the car into drive and following behind Ruben.

One of these days, he was going to put that man over his knee and

paddle his ass until it was rosy red. Elijah chuckled nervously when
his cock jerked at the image. Now was so not the time to be having
fantasies about spanking Ruben.

Elijah rolled the window down when the car came alongside the

man. “Get in the car, Ruben.”

“No.” Ruben kept right on walking.
“Ruben.”
“Go fuck yourself, Elijah. God knows I won’t be doing it again.”
Oh, now Elijah was starting to get pissed. He drove several yards

ahead of Ruben and slammed the car into park. He opened the doors
and climbed out, stalking back toward Ruben. Anger ate at him every
step he took.

“Now, you listen to me, Ruben Blaecleah,” Elijah said as he

stabbed his finger into Ruben’s chest. “I don’t know what type of
fucking game you think you are playing here, but it’s just reaffirming
my belief that you’re not ready for a relationship. And yes, you are
acting like a two-year-old throwing a temper tantrum.”

Elijah was ready for the fist Ruben threw at him. He grabbed it

and spun Ruben around, slamming him into the side of the car and
covering him with his body. Ruben might have filled out a bit in the

Stormy Glenn

last three years, but Elijah was still bigger than him, even if only by a
few inches.

“Let me go!” Ruben growled as he struggled to get away.
“No.” Elijah pressed closer to Ruben. He felt the man suddenly

stiffen and go still and knew Ruben had felt his erection. “I’m not
going to move until you tell me what in the hell is going on, Ruben.
I’m so confused I don’t know whether to wipe my teeth and brush my
ass or—”

“I get it!” Ruben held up a hand. “I get it.”
“Then talk.”
“Why should I?”
“Please?”
Ruben’s shoulders slumped. “Why do you care, Elijah? I swear I

will leave you alone. Just let this go.”

“I can’t, baby.” Elijah leaned his head forward and rested it

against the back of Ruben’s. “You mean too much for me to see you
so sad. And before you say anything, I know this is my fault. I just
don’t know how it’s my fault.” Elijah drew in a deep breath and
lightly kissed the nape of Ruben’s neck. “I’m not a mind reader, Ru.”

“You’re just not going to give this up until you get your pound of

flesh, are you?”

Elijah chuckled lightly. “I’m a lawyer, Ru. Arguing my case is

what I do.”

Silence hung in the air, making Elijah wonder if Ruben was going

to answer him or not. He began to grow worried when Ruben drew in
a deep breath and slowly let it out. Elijah stayed where he was, his
front pressed against Ruben’s back. He thought maybe the man might
need the extra support. He hoped, anyway.

“Mahra was the first woman I was ever with,” Ruben said softly.

“She was also the last woman I was ever with. And it only happened
that one time. You’re the only man I’ve ever been with, and it only
happened that one time. So I’ve had sex exactly twice in my entire
life.”

Cowboy Up

“Sweet mercy.” He was a fucking virgin. Elijah closed his eyes

and tried to breathe as the knowledge that he had been Ruben’s one
and only filled every cell in his body. He didn’t know whether to
groan at the multitude of complications that brought him or shout for
joy that no one had touched this beautiful man except him.

Mahra didn’t count.
“I am so sorry, Ruben,” he whispered against the man’s hair as

guilt ate at him. “I took something that should have been so special
for you and turned it into a nightmare. That wasn’t my intention.”

“Wha—” Ruben cleared his throat. “What did you intend then?”
“I don’t know if I had any specific intentions, Ru. I just knew I

had wanted you since the first day I saw you, and I couldn’t deny
myself anymore, not when you seemed to want it, too.”

Ruben swallowed as he glanced over his shoulder at Elijah. “But

you don’t want me.”

Elijah shook his head as his grip eased slightly. “I do want you,

Ru. I’m just not sure what I want.” He hoped Ruben understood what
he was saying. Elijah was confused as hell, but he knew he couldn’t
live without Ruben. The man was all he dreamt about. He couldn’t
see a life without him there in some manner.

“You sure know how to give mixed signals,” Ruben said as he

continued to look over his shoulder at Elijah. “What do you want
from me?”

Elijah released Ruben as he took a step back, running his hand

through his hair. What did he want? He gave the only answer that
came to mind, the one true thing he really needed. “Time.”

Ruben turned around, facing him as he cocked his head, studying

Elijah with an intensity that made Elijah feel as though Ruben could
see right into his soul. “I guess I can give you that.”

Elijah wasn’t sure if Ruben knew what he truly meant, but he’d

take that for now. His old fears were riding him hard. The nightmare
he had lived through when his lover was beaten to death for being gay
was at the surface. He wouldn’t survive if that happened to Ruben.

Stormy Glenn

“Thank you.”
Ruben stood, pushing away from the car as he took a step toward

Elijah. “But you better not push me away again.”

Elijah got the meaning. This was his one shot at Ruben Blaecleah.

Ruben was giving himself to Elijah. Now it was up to him to decide if
he was man enough to step up to the plate and take the offering. Elijah
nodded as he walked around to the passenger side. “We need to get to
the ranch.”

Ruben’s eyes widened, and then he pulled the driver’s door open,

hurrying inside. Elijah barely got into the passenger side before
Ruben tore away from the snowy shoulder, heading for home.

* * * *

Ruben’s jaw dropped when he drove up in front of the house. Ma

stood on the porch with Alani in her arms. She was pacing back and
forth, and she did not look happy. Below her, standing in the middle
of the steps, was a wall of Blaecleah brothers.

Da was positioned at the bottom of the steps, his arms crossed

over his chest and his legs slightly parted as if daring anyone to pass
him. They were creating a barrier between Alani and the one woman
Ruben hoped never to see again in his lifetime.

He ground his teeth when he pulled to a stop and turned the

engine off. Janice McCallister stood in front of Da arguing with him.
His temper shot up inside of him as he slammed the car door, making
everyone turn to look at him.

“What do you want?”
His biological mother, Janice McCallister, glared at him, her lips

thinning as she raked a disapproving look over Ruben. Her eyes cut to
Elijah. She turned a deep shade of red as she shook a finger at Ruben.

“That is no way to talk to your mother.”
For a heartbeat, Ruben felt regret. He pushed it aside when he

remembered the way his mother had been when he was growing up.

Cowboy Up

“My mother is standing on the porch with my daughter.” He nodded
toward Ma. “Now, what do you want, Janice?”

His birth mother’s head snapped back as if Ruben had struck her.

Her eyes narrowed. The look didn’t have the desired effect Ruben
knew she had hoped it would. The woman didn’t intimidate him
anymore. Ruben no longer had an innate feeling to make sure peace
reigned.

“I want to see my granddaughter,” she said with a curtness to her

voice that pissed Ruben off.

Ruben crossed his arms over his chest as he walked closer to the

front porch and stood next to Da. “She’s not your granddaughter. You
gave up that right when you and the good reverend kicked Matty out.
I don’t want my daughter growing up around such prejudice.”

“I have every right to see her,” his mother sniffed.
“I’m sorry, but you don’t,” Elijah said as he walked over to stand

next to Ruben and Da. “You have no legal right to her whatsoever.”

His mother looked down her nose at Elijah, a haughty look

crossing her pinched face. “This is none of your business. This is
between me and my son.”

Elijah reached inside his coat, pulling out a business card, holding

it out at Ruben’s mother. “My name is Elijah James. I’m Ruben’s
attorney. I’m certified and passed the bar with a very high
recommendation from Superior Court Judge Thomas. If you have any
doubts about who I am, you’re welcome to give Judge Thomas a
call.”

Ruben watched as his mother’s eyes lowered to narrow little slits.

“I know all about my sons. They are an abomination to the lord. I will
not have my granddaughter raised with so much depravity. I will be
getting in contact with a lawyer as well.”

“I think you need to leave,” Ma said. Ruben wanted to laugh and

cheer Ma on, but he knew that wouldn’t go over well right now.

Stormy Glenn

“I’ll leave, for now. But I will be back. Have no doubt about

that!” Janice waggled a finger at Ruben. “She will not be raised by a
blasphemous father!”

Ruben clenched his jaw as he took a step toward the woman who

he no longer considered his mother but was stopped by a hand on his
shoulder. He knew it was Elijah, but Ruben was really tired of his
parents and their holier-than-thou attitude. He was sick of it up to his
ears.

“Let it go. She doesn’t have a leg to stand on,” Elijah said from

beside him. Ruben glared at the woman leaving until she drove away,
disappearing down the driveway. He took a deep breath as he turned
around and headed toward the house, climbing the steps to give Ma a
huge hug.

“Thank you,” he said as she patted his back.
“No one will get to this sweet little baby as long as I have a breath

left in my body,” Ma said as she opened the door, ushering Ruben and
Elijah inside.

As soon as Ruben and Ma stepped inside, he turned and took

Alani from her, cuddling the baby close to his chest. He closed his
eyes and leaned his head down, inhaling the comforting scent that was
unique to babies. He could feel himself visibly shaking and knew his
nerves were frayed. They always were after dealing with his
biological mother.

“She’s beautiful, Ru.”
Ruben opened his eyes and saw Elijah staring at Alani with a look

of wonder on his face. There was something else in Elijah’s blue eyes,
but it was guarded as if Elijah didn’t want Ruben to see it. And Ruben
couldn’t quite decipher what it was.

“Would you like to hold her?” Ruben asked as he tilted Alani

back in his arms and held her out.

“No!” Elijah’s face paled and he quickly shook his head, but

Ruben could see the want in his eyes. “Ruben, I’ll drop her.”

Cowboy Up

Ignoring Elijah’s protests, he gently laid Alani in his arms and

showed him how to support her small head. “No, you won’t.” Ruben
grinned as he watched his lover hold his daughter. It was a sight he
never thought to see, no matter how many times he fantasized about
it. He leaned over and gave Elijah a quick peck on the cheek. “I trust
you, Eli,” he whispered into the man’s ear.

“Jes—Ruben.”
Ruben leaned back and smiled at Elijah. He patted his arm and

turned away.

“Where are you going?” Elijah cried out. “Don’t leave me.”
“I’m not going anywhere, Eli. I just want to have a word with Ma

and Da about what happened before we arrived. I need to find out
why Janice is here.” Ruben ground his teeth together. “And I need to
find out how she even knew about Alani because I know I didn’t tell
her.”

Matty stood by Quaid, looking very pale and just a bit nauseous.

“I didn’t say anything to her. I haven’t talked to her since we left
home.” Matty shrugged his shoulders and glanced away. “I tried after
Father died, but she wouldn’t accept my calls.”

“Matty,” Ruben said as he stepped forward and drew his brother

into his arms. “You know Mother has always been under Father’s
thumb. If the man told her to stop breathing, she would have turned
blue. She probably doesn’t know what to do now that he is dead.”

Matty shuddered in Ruben’s arms. “I’ve never seen her like this,

Ruben. She was livid.”

“I know.” Ruben could understand his brother’s confusion

perfectly. Janice McCallister was not known as a woman with a
strong backbone. She lived for her husband. Ruben thought she would
have been lost without the reverend, but maybe he was wrong. “We’ll
figure this out, Matty.”

“You have the full support of this family, Ruben,” Da said.

“Whatever you need.”

Stormy Glenn

“Thank you, Da.” Ruben drew in a deep breath and pushed Matty

back into Quaid’s waiting arms then turned back to Elijah. “Does she
have any standing, Elijah?”

Elijah’s head came up from where he was looking down at the

baby. “You were legally adopted by the Blaecleahs, Ruben. I filed the
paperwork myself. They are now listed as your legal parents on your
birth certificate. She might be able to make a stink, but she only has
the rights you allow her.”

“I don’t want to allow her anything,” Ruben said vehemently.

“After what she did to me and Matty, I don’t want her anywhere near
Alani.”

Elijah’s eyes narrowed. “What exactly did she do to you and

Matty?”

“She allowed the reverend to abuse us,” Ruben snapped. He

started pacing and pushing his hand through his hair as memories
consumed him. “She knew it was happening, and she just looked the
other way. She never once tried to stop Father.”

“Ruben.”
He suddenly felt arms wrap around him. He blinked in surprise

when he realized that those strong arms belonged to Elijah. Ma was
standing just off to the side with the baby in her arms.

“I won’t let her get Alani,” Elijah said quietly. “I promise.”
Ruben’s jaw dropped when Elijah reached up and brushed his

cheek with the back of his hand. He quickly glanced around, flushing
when he saw the knowing looks in the eyes of those staring back at
him and Elijah.

“Uh, Elijah…” Ruben cleared his throat and forced himself to step

back from the man. He wanted to stay right where he was. Hell, he
wanted to bury his face in Elijah’s throat and stay wrapped in his arms
for as long as he could.

But Elijah wasn’t ready. He had asked for time, and Ruben had

promised to give him that time. Throwing himself into Elijah’s arms

Cowboy Up

in front of nearly the entire Blaecleah family was not the way to do
that.

Ruben felt a little flushed and cold at the same time as he put

several steps between him and the temping man. “Is there anything
we can do to fight her because we’ll need to, I can tell you that right
now. I can feel it. She’s not going to give up until she rips Alani from
my arms.”

Elijah growled and crossed the space between them. He grabbed

Ruben’s arms and gave him a little shake. “I told you, I won’t let her
take Alani away from us.”

Ruben blinked. “Us?”

Stormy Glenn

Chapter 6

Elijah swallowed hard. He could see Ruben staring at him with a

combination of hope and hesitancy. The Blaecleahs knew he was gay,
but they also knew he didn’t advertise it. He could just step back and
they wouldn’t say a thing.

Or he could take away the uncertainty burning in Ruben’s eyes. A

part of Elijah screamed at him to take away any lingering doubt
Ruben had, to give him the reassurances he needed. Another part
screamed at Elijah that he was exposing himself to a losing battle. If
he lost Ruben, Elijah wasn’t sure he’d survive it.

He couldn’t stand the growing chasm he could feel building

between them at his refusal to accept everything Ruben was offering
him. He had been feeling it since they left his house. It was mingled
with his own fears of losing Ruben.

But did he even have it in him to step forward and take what he

really wanted? Could he chance it? And what would happen if he
didn’t? Ruben’s posture was so rigid, Elijah was surprised the man
didn’t crack in two. Elijah knew if he didn’t do something, he was
going to lose Ruben before he even had him.

“Ruben, I—” Elijah’s heart ached when Ruben’s face fell and his

eyes dropped away. “I can’t promise to dance down the middle of
Main Street waving a rainbow-colored flag, but I told you that I
would try and I meant it.”

Ruben still looked reserved, but he nodded. Elijah took a tentative

step forward and reached for Ruben’s hand. The surprise on Ruben’s
face followed by a swift flush covering his cheeks was well worth any

Cowboy Up

discomfort Elijah felt at being out in front of the man’s family. He
leaned over and planted a small kiss on Ruben’s temple.

“I will try, Ru,” he whispered. “I promise.”
That seemed to satisfy Ruben if the smile that crossed his lips was

anything to go by. Elijah was still nervous as hell and he had no clue
where any of this was going, but if he could put that joy-filled smile
on Ruben’s face every day, he’d be a happy man.

“Well, who’s hungry,” Ma said, breaking the tension in the room.

“It’s a little early for lunch, but I hear brunch is just as good.”

Elijah blinked when he once again found himself with a baby in

his arms, Ruben rushing after Ma to help in the kitchen. He stared
down at the delicate-looking child, afraid to move. He just knew he’d
drop her and Ruben would hate him forever.

“Huh, guys,” he called out to anyone that would listen to him, “a

little help here?”

Da chuckled and patted him on the back. “You’re doing just fine,

son.”

“No, seriously.” Elijah started to panic as everyone walked away

from him and into the dining room. “I can’t do this. I’ll drop her or
something.”

“Yeah.” Quaid chuckled. “I wouldn’t advise that. Kids dropped on

their heads tend to scream a lot.”

“So take her,” Elijah pleaded.
“Nuh-huh.” Quaid laughed as he walked away, joining the others

in the dining room and leaving Elijah all alone in the living room with
Alani.

Just as Elijah started to go into full panic mode, Alani opened her

eyes. The deep hazel eyes staring up at him with such complete trust
stole Elijah’s heart just as quickly as her father had—with one single
blink.

“Hey, little one,” Elijah whispered softly as he smiled down at the

baby girl. “My name is Elijah. I’m a friend of your daddy’s.”

Stormy Glenn

Alani just continued to stare up at him, her eyes blinking every

few seconds as if she was trying to decide if she liked Elijah holding
her or not. Elijah was dumbfounded as to what to do with her. What
did he know about babies?

“So, yeah, this whole baby thing? I haven’t got a clue what I’m

doing, so you’ll have to be patient with me. I promise not to drop you
if I can help it, but you have to promise me not to scream. Deal?”

Elijah’s mouth dropped open as a small smile crossed Alani’s lips,

one that was totally identical to Ruben’s, minus the teeth. Elijah’s
heart clenched as a soft cooing sound came from the small baby. He
knew he was lost.

“Oh damn, you just had to go and smile at me, didn’t you?” Elijah

lifted the baby a little higher in his arms and started slowly pacing
around the room as he talked to her. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad
after all?

He reached down to rub his knuckle over one chubby cheek then

chuckled softly when Alani grabbed his finger with her little hand and
pulled it to her mouth, sucking on it almost immediately.

“Did you know your daddy stole my heart with his first smile?”

Elijah grinned at the memory of Ruben’s first smile and how intrigued
he had been at the time. “And you have the same smile. Do you plan
on stealing my heart, too?”

Alani cooed as if she knew exactly what Elijah was saying. Yep,

he was sunk. There was no way he could resist that smile, not when it
reminded him so much of Ruben. “You’re going to be trouble, aren’t
you? No wonder you were born into the Blaecleah family. It’s going
to take all of them just to keep the boys away.”

“Bite your tongue.”
Elijah looked up to see Ruben leaning against the archway to the

dining room, his arms crossed over his chest. He had one eyebrow
arched as if to question Elijah about something. Elijah just didn’t
know what.

“Huh…”

Cowboy Up

“She’s not allowed to date,” Ruben said. “Ever.”
Elijah grinned.
“You think I’m kidding?”
Elijah shook his head. “I own a shotgun. I’ll loan it to you.”
Ruben chuckled as he walked across the room. Elijah couldn’t

help but watch him, his eyes drawn to the sway of Ruben’s hips.
Damn, he couldn’t even watch the man walk across the room without
being turned on.

Ruben stopped in front of him, looking down at the baby. Alani

took that moment to notice her father and coo up at him, bringing a
smile to Ruben’s lips. One that took Elijah’s breath away and grated
on his already tense nerves. He wanted Ruben to look at him like that.
He was so fucked in the head. He was jealous of a damn baby.

Elijah almost growled when Ruben raised his head to meet his

eyes and the smile slowly fell from the man’s lips. Even if the smile
hadn’t been aimed at him, he didn’t want to see it go away. He
wanted it back. At least he could bask in Ruben’s happiness even if it
was aimed at someone else.

“What’s wrong?”
Ruben’s face flushed as he shook his head and looked away. “Do

you want me to take her?”

“Ruben?” When the man refused to meet his eyes, Elijah hiked

Alani further up in his arms and reached over to grab Ruben’s chin,
bringing Ruben’s face around to him. “What’s wrong, Ruben?”

Ruben’s eyes darted around, looking everywhere except at Elijah.

“Nothing is wrong. Brunch is ready. We should go in.”

“Ru, talk to me?”
Ruben’s hazel eyes were tumultuous when they finally met

Elijah’s. “I used to fantasize about this, you know?”

Elijah frowned. “Fantasize about what?”
“You.” Ruben glanced down at Alani. “And her.”
Elijah’s confusion must have shown on his face because Ruben

gave a little chuckle and turned to walk over to the window, staring

Stormy Glenn

out of it. His shoulders slumped a little as if the weight of the world
sat on them.

“When I wasn’t following Mahra from place to place, I’d stay at

camp with Alani. I helped out where I could. It really doesn’t take
much to make someone who has nothing feel good—some clean
water, a bowl of food, a safe place to sleep. Hell, even a kind smile
works.”

Elijah stepped forward to stop Ruben from speaking when he saw

Ruben start rubbing the back of his neck as if the tension there was
tying him up in knots. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to hear what
Ruben said. He always wanted to hear what Ruben had to say,
especially when it came to him. But Ruben seemed so sad.

“Ru—”
“Those times when I could just sit in my tent and play with Alani

or hold her”—Ruben’s rough laugh was filled with stress—“as few
and far between as they were, those times, I wondered what it would
be like to see you holding Alani. I fantasized about it. What I would
do. What I would say.”

Elijah inhaled sharply at the tears glistening in Ruben’s eyes when

he turned back around to face him. “Ru, wha—”

“Nothing I ever fantasized about ever came close to seeing you

actually hold her,” Ruben whispered. He swallowed hard and looked
away as if he couldn’t keep on watching Elijah hold Alani.

Elijah was dumbfounded. He couldn’t think of a single thing to

say. He didn’t want to ruin the moment by saying something really
stupid or something that might drive Ruben away from him. So he
said nothing.

Ruben abruptly sniffled and rubbed his arm across his eyes. Once

he was done, he stood up straighter and stepped toward Elijah,
reaching out for the baby as if nothing life altering had just happened.

Elijah twirled away, holding Alani closer to his chest. “I have

her.”

Cowboy Up

Ruben stared for a moment, and then deep, rich laughter filled the

room. “You’re holding my daughter hostage.”

Elijah felt his face flame. “Am not.”
“You are, too.”
“I just—I just want to hold her a little longer.” He liked knowing

that Ruben fantasized about him, and if it only involved him holding
Alani, he’d keep on holding the baby until his arms gave out.

“Okay, Eli, you hold her a little longer,” Ruben said as he

wrapped an arm around Elijah’s waist and leaned up to plant a small
kiss on Elijah’s cheek. “It might give me a chance to actually eat an
entire meal in one sitting.”

Elijah frowned as he followed Ruben into the dining room. He

really didn’t like the way that sounded. Ruben already seemed a tad
on the lean side, despite the muscles he had. “You don’t eat?”

“Oh, I eat. I just don’t usually get the chance to eat everything on

my plate with the little princess making demands.” Ruben grinned
over his shoulder. “Alani is not known for her patience.”

“You need to eat.” Elijah didn’t like the idea that Ruben might not

be getting enough to eat. It didn’t sit well with him. Ruben needed to
take better care of himself, or Elijah would have to take over and do it
for him. Elijah nodded toward the two vacant chairs at the table. “Go
sit down. I’ll hold her while you eat.”

“Elijah, you really don’t have to—”
“Sit.” His tone brooked no disobedience.
Ruben blinked at Elijah for a moment then walked over and sat

down without a word. Elijah smiled and followed behind him, sitting
in the vacant chair beside Ruben. He jostled Alani around in his arms,
setting her on his lap, her back to his stomach, and then he wrapped
an arm around her waist and held her firmly. It helped that she could
hold her head up. Alani immediately grabbed his finger and stuck it in
her mouth.

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“So.” Elijah swallowed hard. He could feel every member of the

Blaecleah clan watching him except the baby in his arms. He quickly
scanned the food piled on the table. “Are there any finger foods?”

* * * *

Elijah leaned against the bedroom door and watched Ruben sitting

on the bed, preparing Alani for bed. She had been fed, burped, bathed,
and was now getting a clean set of pajamas. Her eyes were already
starting to droop. Elijah took that as a good sign. She was an adorable
child, but babies took a lot of attention.

Once Alani was laid down for the night, Elijah was hoping to

spend a little one-on-one time with Ruben. The day had been
interesting. Elijah had spent time at the Blaecleah ranch before on
several occasions. He’d just never done it with knowing looks aimed
in his direction. He was pretty sure every single Blaecleah knew
exactly why he was out at the ranch.

And strangely enough, he wasn’t bothered by it. Elijah didn’t

understand that. He had hidden his desires away from prying eyes for
so very long that it had become second nature to him. He wasn’t sure
how to act now that people knew. He also wasn’t sure how he felt
about people knowing.

Ruben wrapped a blanket around Alani then stood, settling the

baby against his shoulder. He flushed when he looked over and saw
Elijah standing in the doorway. “You don’t have to stay, Elijah.”

“I’ll stay.”
Ruben started looking a little more flushed, a little flustered.

“Why don’t you go down and have coffee with Ma and Da? This may
take awhile.”

“I’m good.”
“Well, at least sit down or something.”
Elijah grinned as he walked across the room toward the chair

situated by the window. He paused just briefly enough to plant a small

Cowboy Up

kiss on Alani’s forehead and then Ruben’s before happily strolling to
the chair and sitting down.

Ruben was standing still, staring at him. Shock made his hazel

eyes darker. Elijah cocked an eyebrow then chuckled softly when
Ruben’s face filled again. The man was just too cute for words. That
he could still blush after all of the things he had seen and experienced
was a miracle. Elijah hoped Ruben never lost that ability.

Elijah sat quietly in the chair by the window and watched Ruben

slowly move around the room as he gently patted Alani on the back.
His movements were sure and fluid. It looked like Ruben was dancing
with his daughter.

Elijah could have sat there and watched for hours. He felt a little

guilty about the lust that started coursing through him as he watched
Ruben move. The man had his daughter in his arms. Elijah knew he
shouldn’t be turned on by the alluring sight, but he was.

He was so immersed in watching the slow sway of Ruben’s hips

and wondering if they would move just the same if he was dancing
with Ruben that he almost jumped when Ruben suddenly stopped and
walked over to lay the baby down in her cradle.

He was up and standing beside Ruben when the man stood

straight. Ruben’s eyes widened and a small puff of air shot out of his
mouth when he turned and saw Elijah standing next to him.

Elijah just smiled and grabbed Ruben’s hand, drawing the sexy

man into his arms. “My turn,” he said softly so not to wake the
sleeping baby. He had plans for Ruben that didn’t involve any
children—or anyone else for that matter.

“You want me to rock you to sleep?”
“I want you to dance with me.”
Ruben’s forehead wrinkled as he frowned. “There’s no music.”
“Doesn’t matter.”
Elijah liked the look of astonishment on Ruben’s face as he began

dancing the man slowly around the room. He enjoyed the feeling of
the man in his arms even more. Slowly, almost hesitantly, Ruben’s

Stormy Glenn

arms worked around Elijah’s body, and the stiffness in his stature
began to fade away.

Elijah grabbed Ruben’s head and pressed it into the crook of his

neck then grabbed Ruben’s hand. He folded their fingers together and
tucked their entwined hands against his chest. He wrapped his other
arm firmly around Ruben’s back.

There might not have been music playing in the room, just the

sounds of their uneven breathing, but Elijah couldn’t remember ever
enjoying a dance like the one he was having. He wasn’t even sure he
had ever danced like this.

Elijah let go of Ruben’s hand and grabbed his chin, tilting his

head back just enough so that he could reach his lips. The kiss was
soft and gentle, and just a bit hesitant. It wasn’t filled with desire or
the overwhelming lust he usually felt when he was around Ruben.

Instead, it was colored with need and a deep longing Elijah didn’t

even know he was feeling. By the time he lifted his head and stared
down at Ruben, he felt just as dazed as Ruben seemed. And Ruben
was staring up at him like he had hung the moon.

Elijah swallowed past the lump that built in his throat at the soft

glint in Ruben’s hazel eyes. Had Thomas ever looked at him like that?
Had anyone ever looked at him like that? Elijah didn’t think so, and
that made him wonder if what he had with Thomas had even been
real. Whatever it was that passed between him and Ruben seemed so
much stronger, and yet so much simpler.

Elijah leaned down again and claimed Ruben’s soft lips again. He

couldn’t even begin to define the feelings that ran through him when
Ruben groaned and leaned into the kiss. He wasn’t sure he would
have been able to give name to them even if he tried. No one had ever
made him feel the way Ruben Blaecleah did.

It wasn’t just desire or lust, even if the man was hot enough to

burn paint off the walls at fifty paces. Elijah had a deep need to learn
more about the man—his wants and desires, his deepest fantasies. He
even wanted to know Ruben’s likes and dislikes. He wanted to know

Cowboy Up

what the man thought on any given topic. Elijah wanted to know
everything.

“Eli,” Ruben whispered as he pulled away and cast a quick glance

at the cradle next to the wall. He swallowed hard, naked desire
shining in his eyes when he looked back at Elijah. “I can’t. Not
with—”

“Sshhh, baby,” Elijah whispered back as he rubbed his thumb

along Ruben’s lips. “I know you can’t. We’re just dancing. That’s
all.”

“Yeah, but—”
“As much as I want there to be more between us, I am not ruled

by my libido, Ruben. I am perfectly happy just holding you in my
arms.”

A soft flush filled Ruben’s face. Elijah could feel the man’s hard

cock pressing against him and knew what he was feeling. Elijah was
feeling the very same desire. He just didn’t feel an overwhelming
need to act on it. Holding Ruben in his arms was enough.

“If this is all we have tonight, I’m fine with that. I understand that

Alani’s needs have to come first.”

“Really?”
Elijah leaned down and kissed the tip of Ruben’s pert nose.

“Really.”

“And if I suggested we slip into the bathroom?”
Elijah’s mouth dropped open as his brain took a dump. He

suddenly felt overheated and achy and wanted more than to dance
Ruben around the room and cuddle in the man’s arms. He dropped his
eyes to where Ruben was nervously licking his lips. Those were what
he wanted and preferably wrapped around his aching cock.

“Have you ever sucked someone’s cock?”
Ruben’s face flushed again. His eyes dropped to Elijah’s chest.

“Sort of?”

“Sort of?” Elijah frowned in confusion. “Is that a question or a

statement?”

Stormy Glenn

“I don’t think it counts when you use a dildo.”
Ruben’s words were whispered so low that Elijah almost didn’t

hear them. When he finally figured out what Ruben was saying, he
almost came in his jeans. He swallowed first before speaking, afraid
that the desire coursing through his veins would make speech
impossible.

“You gave a blow job to a dildo?”
Ruben shrugged, still refusing to meet Elijah’s eyes. “I was

practicing.”

Elijah closed his eyes as burning-hot lust blasted through him like

an explosion. He could feel his cock leaking, weeping. The image of
Ruben practicing a blow job on a dildo was almost enough to bring
Elijah to his knees.

“Bathroom,” Elijah growled as he shoved Ruben in that direction.

“Now.”

Ruben’s sudden intake of breath was a balm to Elijah’s soul. The

eager rush of the man running for the bathroom inflamed him even
more. Ruben wanted this just as much as he did. Elijah was just a step
behind Ruben, fiddling with the buttons on his jeans as he shut the
door behind them.

By the time he got his pants unbuttoned and pushed down his

thighs and then looked up, Ruben was bent over the sink, his own
jeans down around his ankles and a bottle of lube and a condom in his
outstretched hand. He was quickly trying to step out of his jeans, but
they had become tangled on his feet.

Elijah dropped to his knees behind Ruben and calmed the man’s

movements with a hand on his thigh. He carefully helped Ruben step
the rest of the way out of his jeans then shoved them away. His eyes
almost crossed when Ruben spread his legs, giving Elijah a complete
view of everything that lay between them.

“Damn, baby,” Elijah said as he ran his hand over Ruben’s

smooth, curved bottom. “You’re gorgeous.”

“Yeah?”

Cowboy Up

Elijah could hear the nervousness in Ruben’s voice. It was a far

cry from the confident, assertive man that had fucked him earlier.
Maybe Ruben wasn’t as dominant as he thought he was. And maybe
he was but didn’t mind playing a more submissive roll on occasion.
Either way was fine with Elijah.

“Oh yeah.”
Elijah stood up and pushed his jeans the rest of the way down his

legs then kicked them aside. He pulled his shirt over his head and
tossed it to the floor on top of his jeans then reached for Ruben’s shirt.
Once the man was naked, Elijah pressed his front against Ruben’s
back and settled his hands on Ruben’s shoulders.

“Watch us, baby.”
Ruben’s hazel eyes snapped up to meet Elijah’s in the bathroom

mirror. Once Elijah knew Ruben was watching his every move, he
started slowly moving his hands down the man’s body, caressing his
skin. The heat that started to flame in Ruben’s eyes darkened them to
a deep brown. It was an erotic sight, one that Elijah wanted to see
more of.

“Do you like that, baby?” he whispered as he stroked his fingers

over Ruben’s nipples. It was just a light touch, barely there, but it was
enough to make them pebble into hard little nubs. Ruben panted
heavily as he nodded. “Yeah?”

Ruben nodded again. Elijah grinned. He couldn’t have torn his

eyes away from Ruben’s body if the bathroom had been on fire. The
way the man responded to the simplest touch astounded him.

“You’re very tactile, aren’t you?”
Ruben’s eyes moved up from watching Elijah’s hands on his body

to meet Elijah’s eyes. “Tactile?” He sounded like he had never heard
the word or had any idea what it meant.

“You are very responsive to touch, Ru.” Elijah stroked his finger

over the tip of Ruben’s nipple and watched it pebble. The sight made
him shiver in delight. “You crave it.”

Ruben shrugged. “I guess.”

Stormy Glenn

Elijah started stroking his fingers further down Ruben’s body,

watching each shudder, each inhale of breath. “You do, baby. Your
body needs to feel my hands on you.” And Elijah had every intention
of fulfilling that need.

He grabbed the lube out of Ruben’s hand and squirted some out

on his fingers before setting the bottle on the counter. Keeping one
hand on Ruben’s chest, he moved the other one between Ruben’s ass
cheeks and brushed his fingers over the man’s tight entrance. He was
captured by the sight of Ruben moaning and dropping his head back
as one of his fingers breached the man.

Was there ever a more beautiful sight?
“Do you like that, Ru?” Elijah asked. “Does that feel good?”
“Gods, yes!” Ruben cried out.
Elijah watched ecstasy manifest on Ruben’s face as he finger

fucked him, adding one finger after another until the man was
stretched enough to take him. If this was going to be Ruben’s first
time, he wanted it to be a memory that brought Ruben joy.

“Okay, babe,” Elijah said when Ruben was stretched enough to

take him, “bend over the counter and spread your legs, but keep
watching in the mirror. I want to see your face as I take you.”

Elijah lined his cock up with Ruben’s ass then looked up. Once he

had captured Ruben’s eyes, he started slowly pushing into the man’s
tight entrance. Ruben’s eyes widened. He started panting softly.

“Oh hell, baby,” Elijah groaned when he bottomed out and his

balls brushed up against Ruben’s ass. He stayed there for a moment,
not moving, just savoring the feeling of being balls-deep inside of the
man he had been dreaming about for so very long. Ruben’s tight ass
was wrapped so snugly around Elijah’s cock that he swore he felt the
man’s very pulse.

Elijah pulled out slowly until just the head of his cock remained

inside the first ring of muscles then slammed home until not an inch
of his cock remained outside of Ruben’s ass. The long, needful cry
that fell from Ruben’s lips was a balm to his soul.

Cowboy Up

Elijah loved watching Ruben in the mirror. The more he moved,

the more dazed Ruben’s eyes became. The deep hazel color darkened
with each thrust, becoming almost dark chocolate brown.

“You feel so good, Ru.” Elijah panted softly between words.

“Gonna fuck you till you scream.”

Ruben’s face flushed. Elijah grabbed Ruben’s shoulders and used

them for leverage as he thrust into the man’s tight ass. The pressure
surrounding his cock was mind blowing. Elijah didn’t think he had
ever felt anything like it. Ruben’s ass was made for him. It cradled his
cock with just the right amount of tension so that Elijah felt every
movement.

“Eli.”
Elijah grinned and reached around Ruben and wrapped his fingers

around the man’s cock. A small cry of need fell from Ruben’s lips as
he started rocking his hips, thrusting forward into Elijah’s hand then
back to impale himself on Elijah’s cock.

“That’s it, baby,” Elijah groaned. “Take what you need.”
Ruben’s eyes glazed. The small moans coming from him grew

louder. Elijah felt each one of them like a soft caress against his soul.
He was the one giving this pleasure to Ruben, making him come apart
at the seams. Him. Elijah James. No one else. Just him.

Elijah could feel his balls drawing up close to his body. He

squeezed his hand tighter around Ruben’s hard cock then started
thrusting harder, faster. He needed Ruben to come before he did. It
was more imperative than breathing.

“Come for me, baby,” Elijah whispered into Ruben’s ear. “I want

to feel you come on my cock, feel you squeeze me until I come in
your ass.”

Ruben sobbed once then came all over Elijah’s hand and the edge

of the counter. Elijah groaned when Ruben’s muscles tightened down
around his cock. His legs started to tremble as if holding him up was
more than they could handle. Elijah bent his knees and drove his cock
up into Ruben’s ass as a wave of intense pleasure swept over him.

Stormy Glenn

“Ruben!” he shouted as he came, filling Ruben with his release.

Elijah shuddered for several moments as he continued to spurt into
Ruben. When there was nothing left in his balls, Elijah dropped his
head down onto Ruben’s shoulder and wrapped his hands around the
man’s waist, holding Ruben tight up against his body.

“Are you okay, Ru?”
“I’ll let you know when my legs start working again.”
Elijah chuckled and raised his eyes to look at Ruben in the mirror.

Ruben’s face was still flushed, his eyes just now returning to their
normal hazel brown. He had the look about him of a man that had just
been thoroughly fucked and was amazed by the experience. It was a
good look on him.

Ruben winced when Elijah’s softening cock slid from his ass.

Elijah felt bad when he realized that his lover was a little sore. He
probably shouldn’t have fucked him quite so hard for his first time.
He just couldn’t seem to help himself.

However, he could care for Ruben now. Elijah reached over and

grabbed a clean washcloth off the shelf and got it wet with warm
water. He smiled into the mirror at Ruben. “Spread your legs, babe.”

Ruben looked slightly confused but did as Elijah ordered. Elijah

squatted down behind Ruben and began wiping him clean, smiling at
the soft inhale he heard from the man. “Part of having a lover is
making sure you take care of them afterward.”

“Yeah.” Ruben whimpered. “But is it supposed to turn you on?”
Elijah chuckled. “Definitely.”
“Then it worked.”
Elijah couldn’t keep the smile of satisfaction off his face. He

pulled one side of Ruben’s ass aside and gently rubbed the washcloth
down the crease of Ruben’s ass. Elijah’s eyes widened and a sudden
dread filled him when more cum dripped out of Ruben’s ass.

Oh shit!
“Uh, Ruben…” Elijah swallowed hard and stood up. He needed to

look Ruben in the face when he admitted the horrible mistake he had

Cowboy Up

made. It was his responsibility to make sure his lover was taken care
of, and he had done a piss-poor job at it. “Baby, I—”

Ruben’s eyebrows drew together as he stared back at Elijah in the

mirror. “What?”

“I forgot to use the condom.” Elijah’s eyes dropped away as

shame filled him. He realized he was rambling, but he couldn’t seem
to stop the words once they started to spill from his mouth. “I’m so
sorry. I should have been prepared but I—I just got caught up in the
moment. I swear to god that I’m clean, Ruben. I haven’t been with
anyone in years, and I’ve been tested several times since then. I can
show you my test results. They’re back at my place. I would never put
you in danger. I swear I just forgot. I—”

“Hey.” Ruben turned and grabbed his face, turning Elijah to face

him. It took all of Elijah’s courage to raise his eyes and meet Ruben’s
gaze.

“I am so sorry, Ruben,” he whispered.
“It’s okay. I trust you, Elijah.” Ruben smiled. “If I didn’t trust

you, I wouldn’t have let you anywhere near me.”

“Yeah, but, Ruben—”
“Ssshh.” Ruben’s finger pressed against Elijah’s lips. “You’ve

been tested, and I’ve never been with anyone except you and Mahra.
We’re both clean as far as we know. If it will make you feel better, we
can get tested together.” Elijah started to open his mouth when Ruben
pressed another finger across his lips. “We can go to the city and get
tested. No one has to know.”

Elijah felt relieved and regretful all at the same time. He didn’t

want anyone else to know their business. He’d prefer to be an
anonymous person in a big city rather than going to the only doctor in
Cade Creek. But he also felt bad that he was forcing Ruben to hide
their relationship.

Elijah dropped his forehead against Ruben’s. “It’s getting easier,

Ruben. I swear. I just need a little more time.”

Ruben’s eyes were mischievous. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Stormy Glenn

Chapter 7

It had been two weeks, and there had been no word from Janice.

Ruben was starting to get worried. He knew when she left that it
wouldn’t be the end of things. Janice wanted Alani, and she was just
evil enough to try and take her away from Ruben.

The waiting for her to act on her threats was driving Ruben

bonkers. He was afraid to leave Alani in case Janice came for her.
Despite what Elijah said, there was a part of Ruben that was afraid
some judge would give Janice rights to Alani. Ruben couldn’t allow
that, but he didn’t know how to stop it either.

Elijah kept trying to reassure Ruben that the woman had no basis

for a case, but knowing Janice, she wouldn’t need a judge’s order to
take Alani. If the courts didn’t give permission, Janice would hire
someone. Ruben just knew it. He felt it deep down in his soul. Janice
wanted Alani, and she wouldn’t stop until she got her.

Which was why Ruben currently stood outside of Elijah’s office,

trying to get up the courage to go inside. Elijah had been out to the
ranch several times in the last two weeks. And Ruben had been to his
house once. They had yet to spend the entire night together though,
and that bothered Ruben more than he wanted to admit.

He wanted to spend the entire night wrapped in Elijah’s arms, to

wake up next to the man in the morning. He wanted to shout it from
the rooftops that Elijah was his. But he also wanted to give Elijah the
time he needed to come to terms with their relationship. He had
promised he would, but it was getting harder and harder each time he
had to say good-bye to Elijah instead of good morning.

Cowboy Up

Ruben sighed and opened the door. There was nothing he could

do about it until Elijah was ready. He would just have to wait the man
out. He plastered a smile on his face and walked into the lawyer’s
office, stopping in front of the receptionist’s desk.

“Hi, Sandy, does Mr. James have a moment to meet with me?”
“Good morning, Mr. Blaecleah,” Sandy, the receptionist, said as

she reached for the phone on her desk. “He’s in a meeting at the
moment, but I’ll let him know you are here. Why don’t you have a
seat?”

Ruben could hear the receptionist talking on the phone as he

walked over to one of the chairs near the door and sat down. He
pulled the edge of the blanket back and checked on Alani, smiling
when he saw that she was sound asleep, and then covered her back up.
She had been asleep since Ruben buckled her into her car seat and
driven to town. She hadn’t even woken up when he put her in the
chest carrier. Alani could sleep through anything except really loud or
sudden noises.

“How old is your daughter?”
Ruben glanced up and then smiled at Sandy. She had worked for

Elijah ever since he met the man. Ruben knew Elijah relied on the
woman as his right hand in the office. “She’s almost seven months.”

“Can I see?” Sandy asked as she walked out from behind the desk.
Ruben pulled the blanket back to reveal Alani’s slumbering face.
“Oh, she’s so cute,” the receptionist whispered, lowering her

voice.

“Yeah, she looks just like her mother except for my eyes.”
Sandy’s face fell. “I’m so sorry, Ruben. I heard what happened to

your wife.”

Ruben nodded. It was getting easier to remember Mahra without

feeling like crap. He hoped in time he would be able to remember her
with fondness instead of loss. He hadn’t realized until she was gone
how much he would miss the woman that had become such a good
friend to him.

Stormy Glenn

“Are you going to the Christmas program at the church on

Christmas Eve?” Sandy asked as she walked back over to sit down at
her desk.

“The Christmas program?” Ruben shuddered.
“Oh yes, Brody and Neason have been planning it for weeks. The

children are all so excited about it.”

Ruben nearly groaned. If Brody and Neason had been planning it,

he was pretty sure he would be required to attend. He so didn’t want
to. Christmas programs at church gave him the hives. He had
nightmares about being forced to participate and getting his ass
whupped by his father when his performance wasn’t perfect.

“I suppose I will be, but it depends on how Alani is feeling.”
Sandy frowned. “Is Mrs. Blaecleah sick?”
Ruben chuckled. “No, no, she’s fine. Mahra and I named the baby

after Ma. That’s who I was referring to.”

“Is she sick?”
“No, but she’s not used to the cold weather either. She was born in

the deserts of Africa. The climate change has been a little hard on
her.”

“Oh, well, if you can come, be sure to stop by with her. My

husband would love to meet her. He misses our grandchildren so
much. They live so far away and can only get out here a few times a
year.”

“I’ll be sure and do that.” Ruben smiled. “How is Mark?”
“He’s good. Having a little trouble dealing with retirement, but

he’ll get there.”

“I didn’t know Mark had retired.” The man seemed too young.

Granted, he was in his midfifties, but that wasn’t retirement age. And
he was pretty physically fit the last time Ruben had seen Mark on the
street.

Sandy sighed. “It’s the economy. The mill had to lay people off.

They decided to totally do away with Mark’s division and outsource
the work to another company. Mark’s been looking for another job,

Cowboy Up

but not many people want to hire someone his age. So we’re calling
this his retirement unless something else comes up.”

Ruben frowned. “He has a lot of years of experience at the mill,

doesn’t he?”

“Almost twenty years.”
“Doesn’t he do any carpentry work, too?”
Sandy chuckled. “Only as a hobby. He loves working with his

hands. That’s why he went to work at the mill. It gave him a chance to
work on wood and use his hands. Two of his favorite things.”

Ruben had an idea. “Does he know anything about cabinets or

trim?”

“Not formally, but he’s been working on stuff like that for years.

He did all of the work on our house.”

“I might have an idea if Mark agrees.” Ruben slid forward on his

seat. “Ma and Da bought ten acres for me on the far side of the ranch.
They’re going to help me build a house for Alani and me. While the
contractor for the actual house has already been picked out, there is
some special woodwork that I’d like done to make the place unique.
Do you think Mark might be interested in that?”

“How long would the job last?”
Ruben shrugged. “Until the job was done, I guess. It’s not a ton of

stuff, but it should give Mark some work for at least a couple of
months. If he does a good job, I imagine word would get out and
maybe he can get some work doing custom woodwork on houses,
even if he just wanted it to be a hobby.”

Ruben was relieved when Sandy began to smile. He wasn’t sure

the woman would go for the idea, and he was even less sure of Mark.
He barely knew the man. But he needed the work done, and why not
someone in Cade Creek?

“I’ll talk to Mark and tell him to give you a call.”
“That would be great. The contractor can build the basic house,

but you really need an artist to make it special.” Ruben gestured to the

Stormy Glenn

baby strapped to his chest. “This is where Alani is going to grow up,
and I want it to be the best place possible.”

Sandy’s smile widened. “That’s all any of us want for our

children.”

Ruben opened his mouth to reply when the door to Elijah’s office

suddenly opened. Elijah and another man walked out, Elijah shaking
the man’s hand. “I should have those papers filed for you by
Wednesday, Bob.”

“Thanks, Elijah.”
Ruben knew the moment Elijah realized he was in the room. His

body posture stiffened, and a slightly panicked look came over his
face. Ruben felt an instant of pain. He sighed and climbed to his feet,
wrapping his arms around Alani to ground himself to someone that
loved him.

“Mr. James, I know I don’t have an appointment, but I was

wondering if I could have a moment of your time.” Each word was
like a dagger in Ruben’s chest. He hated the need there was to pretend
they had no relationship outside of Elijah’s office.

“Yes, of course, Mr. Blaecleah.” Elijah smiled at Bob then turned

to Sandy. “Could you get the Blaecleah file for me, Sandy?”

“Right away, Mr. James.”
Ruben waited until Sandy walked away and Bob left then turned

and followed Elijah into his office. He almost jumped when the door
shut forcibly behind him. “Elijah, what—”

“Damn it, Ruben.” Elijah pushed his hand through his hair as he

paced back and forth in front of the door. Ruben wasn’t sure he had
ever seen the man so agitated. “You can’t come to my office.”

Ruben blinked in confusion. “I can’t?”
“No, you can’t.” Elijah sent Ruben a look that said he thought he

was crazy. “What if someone saw you? What if Bob talks or starts
asking questions?”

Ruben swallowed past the bile rising in his throat. He reached into

the baby bag and pulled out the manila envelope he had been bringing

Cowboy Up

to Elijah. It was his will. He had it notarized and now needed Elijah to
file it with the court. He slapped it against Elijah’s chest, not surprised
in the least when Elijah’s eyes widened.

“What if I was simply a client bringing you some legal papers I

needed filed with the court? Would it be acceptable for me to come to
your office then?”

Ruben didn’t wait for Elijah to reply. He turned and yanked the

door open, storming past a startled Sandy. Tears prickled the corners
of his eyes by the time he made it to the front door and walked out.

Fuck him! Ruben didn’t need this shit in his life. He had a lot of

work ahead of him in his life being a single parent. He didn’t need to
be Elijah’s dirty little secret as well. If Elijah was so ashamed of him
that he didn’t even want him coming by his office, then Elijah could
go fuck himself.

Ruben slowed his steps when he realized people were starting to

look at him as he stormed down the street. Despite how much he felt
like his heart was being ripped out of his chest, he refused to bring
this back on Elijah. Apparently, the man’s privacy meant more to him
than anything—even Ruben.

He had better control of himself by the time he reached his car. He

carefully took Alani off his chest and then buckled her into her seat
belt. He dropped the baby bag in the backseat then quietly closed the
door.

Ruben was just climbing into his car when his cell phone rang. He

picked it up and answered without looking to see who it was, and
instantly wished he had when he heard Elijah’s voice come over the
phone.

“I’m sorry, Ruben. I overreacted. Why don’t you meet me at my

house, and we can talk about this.”

Ruben sighed and rubbed his eyes. “No, Elijah. I think it’s best if I

just go home.”

“Ruben, please. I said I was sorry.”

Stormy Glenn

Ruben’s head dropped back against the seat rest. “I know. I heard

you, and I believe you.”

“Then meet me at my house.”
Ruben swallowed hard. There was a thick knot of tears clogging

his throat. “I’m just going to head home, Elijah.”

Elijah sighed. “Fine, then I’ll meet you out at the ranch after

work.”

“No, I don’t think that’s a good idea either, Elijah.”
There was silence for a moment, and Ruben knew Elijah was

thinking best how to word his next sentence. Ruben could have saved
him the trouble. He had thought he could wait, that he could give
Elijah the time he seemed to need. He was wrong. Elijah’s reaction at
this office told Ruben all he needed to know. Elijah was never going
to come out of the closet, and there wasn’t enough room in there for
Ruben and Alani.

“Ruben, please.”
There was a pleading tone in Elijah’s voice. It almost made Ruben

break until he remembered how he had felt when Elijah denied their
relationship. He swallowed again as a tear slid down his cheek.

“Good-bye, Elijah.”
Ruben’s hand trembled as he hung up and tossed his cell phone

onto the passenger seat next to him. He felt numb as he turned on the
car and pulled out into traffic, heading for home. He just wanted to go
home and pretend he had never met Elijah James. He just didn’t think
it was possible. The man was imprinted on his very soul. And Ruben
didn’t have a clue what he was going to do without Elijah in his life.

Ruben wiped the tears out of his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt.

He blinked when headlights flashed in his rearview mirror. The car
pulled up right behind him, blinding him from seeing who was in the
driver’s seat.

A quick check of the speedometer showed he was doing the speed

limit. Ruben slowed down so the asshole behind him could pass him,
but the car just slowed down and continued to follow him.

Cowboy Up

Ruben swallowed hard and reached over to grab his cell phone.

Something ominous started to climb up his spine. Ruben was driving.
He didn’t feel safe taking his eyes off the road long enough to search
through his contact list or dial a number, so he just hit connect on the
phone. He knew who would answer.

“Ruben?”
“Someone is following me.”
“Are you sure?”
“Oh yeah, I slowed down so that they could go around me and

they just slowed down. They won’t go around me.”

“Don’t stop for any reason, Ruben. Head straight for the ranch.

Sandy is calling your brothers on the other line. They will be coming
from the direction of the ranch. I’ll be heading out from town.”

“Elijah—”
“I’m leaving now, Ruben. Just stay on the line with me.”
Ruben was terrified. No matter how much he sped up or slowed

down, the car behind him stayed right on his tail. The car was so close
that if he had slammed on his brakes, the vehicle would slam right
into his bumper.

Ruben ran through all the scenarios he could think of. Stopping,

speeding up, turning off onto another road, turning around, or even
pulling over to the side of the road. He couldn’t work out what would
be best, what wouldn’t harm the precious package in the backseat.

“Ruben?”
“Yeah?”
“Talk to me, babe.”
“I don’t want to talk to you. I’m mad at you.”
“I know, Ru, but talk to me anyway.”
“You suck.” Ruben smiled when he heard Elijah’s chuckle come

through the phone.

“Yeah, babe, I do, and I’m sorry. I panicked.”
Ruben sighed. “I can’t keep doing this, Elijah.”
“Ruben—”

Stormy Glenn

“No, listen to me. I have too much on my plate right now for this

shit. I don’t have the energy to check to see if someone is watching
every damn time I want to talk to you or kiss you. I thought I could
wait for you to get used to us, but I can’t. I’d rather be alone than feel
like you’re ashamed of me.”

“Damn it, Ruben,” Elijah snapped. “I’ve never been ashamed of

you.”

Ruben sighed. “Well, it sure as hell feels like it.”
“Ruben, I—damn it, this isn’t the time for this conversation,

Ruben.”

“Is there ever a time?”
“Damn it, Ruben, you are not giving up on me. I won’t allow it.”
Ruben blinked and pulled the phone away from his ear to stare at

it. Elijah wouldn’t allow him to give up? Since when? He seemed to
be the one running, not Ruben. Just as Ruben started to put the phone
back to his ear, the car behind them bumped into them.

“Oh, shit!” Ruben shouted as he dropped the phone and grabbed

the steering wheel with both hands. The car swerved enough to make
Ruben’s heart thunder in his chest then headed down the road once
more. Ruben looked into his rearview mirror. The other car was still
following close on his tail.

Ruben knew he didn’t have far to go to reach safety when he saw

the headlights of several vehicles coming in his direction. His eyes
nearly bugged right out of his head as the long line of trucks broke
into two lines, taking up both sides of the road.

Instead of slamming on the brakes, Ruben prayed and then sped

up. The line of trucks separated long enough for Ruben’s car to get
through then closed ranks once again. Ruben drew in a deep breath.
He glanced over his shoulder just long enough to see two of the trucks
swerve around and start following him. The rest were blocking the
road.

Ruben headed for home.

Cowboy Up

Da was standing at the bottom of the steps, a shotgun in his hand,

when Ruben pulled up. Ma stood behind him, pacing back and forth
on the porch. The moment Ruben pulled his car to a stop and turned
off the engine, both of them were headed for the car. Rourke and Billy
climbed out of one truck. Seamus climbed out of the other. They all
headed over.

“Are you okay, Son?” Da asked as he scanned the driveway.
“I’m fine, Da. Just a little scared.” Ruben stepped to the back door

and opened it and then leaned in to pull Alani out. She was still sound
asleep. He grabbed the diaper bag and swung it over his shoulder then
nudged the door closed with his hip.

“Come on. Let’s get you two out of the cold,” Ma said as she

wrapped an arm around Ruben’s waist. “I have tea heating in the
kitchen.”

Ruben started to follow Ma up the steps until he heard the others

returning. He handed Alani off to Ma and walked over to stand next
to Da and the others. His heart beat a little faster when he saw Elijah’s
car pull in behind the others. He couldn’t believe the relief he felt at
the sight of the man.

Ruben waited until Elijah climbed out of his car and started

talking with his brothers then turned and walked into the house. If he
waited until Elijah stood in front of him, Ruben didn’t think he would
be able to stop from throwing himself into Elijah’s arms.

And Elijah didn’t want that.
Ruben walked into the kitchen and took Alani from Ma then went

and sat down at the table. He wrapped his arms around his daughter
and bent his head down over hers to hide the need on his face. It
wouldn’t do him any good.

Besides, he knew he needed to get control of himself before

everyone else came inside. They would want to question him. He
would have to have control in order to do anything other than stare at
Elijah.

“Here’s some tea, son.”

Stormy Glenn

Ruben smiled up at Ma when she set a cup of tea down in front of

him. “You always know what I need, Ma.”

Ma sat down beside Ruben with her own cup of tea then reached

over to pat Ruben’s hand. “That’s what a mother does, Son.”

Ruben’s jaw dropped. “Oh hell, I know what happened,” he

whispered.

“Ruben!”
Ruben flushed. “Sorry, Ma.”
Ma frowned. “Now, what are you going on about?”
“I know who was following me.”
“Who?” asked a voice from the doorway.

Cowboy Up

Chapter 8

Elijah watched from the archway between the dining room and the

living room as Ruben’s head snapped up at his question. “Answer my
question, Ruben. Who was following you?”

“I think it was Janice.”
Elijah crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the

archway. It was the only way he could keep from reaching for Ruben,
and after their last conversation, he didn’t think the man would let
him.

“Why do you think it was Janice?”
“Who else could it have been?” Ruben asked. “No one else is out

to get me.”

“But are you sure they were out to get you? Could you swear to it

in a court of law?”

Ruben jumped to his feet, one hand wrapped around Alani, the

other pointed toward the front of the house. “Have you seen my car?”
he shouted. “They hit me. They tried to drive me off the road.”

Elijah held up his hand. “Ruben, I’m only asking because we need

to make a police report. It can’t be just your best guess. You have to
know for a fact that it was Janice and not a drunk driver or
something.”

Ruben looked mutinous for a moment then sighed and dropped his

head. “Okay, I see your point. I know it was Janice, but I can’t prove
it. At this point, all I can prove is that someone tried to run me off the
road. I guess that’s not enough to file a police report.”

“I called the sheriff from the truck,” Rourke said. “He should be

here soon to take a report.”

Stormy Glenn

“Good.” Elijah nodded. “There should be a report on file in case it

happens again.” Elijah’s eyes slid to Ma when she inhaled sharply and
pressed her hand against her chest.

“Do you think it’s going to happen again?” she asked.
“Not if I can help it,” Elijah growled. The moments between the

time Ruben had first called him and when he had seen the man sitting
at the table drinking a cup of tea were some of the worst in Elijah’s
life. They almost rivaled losing Thomas.

Elijah never wanted to go through that again. He knew if he was a

smart man, he would help the Blaecleahs file a police report and then
go on his merry way. Ruben had given him an out. If he stayed, there
was a very likely chance that he could lose everything all over again.

On the other hand, the terror that had filled every inch of his body

while he had driven toward Ruben told him how much the man had
come to mean to him. Add in the heartache he felt when Ruben told
him good-bye, and Elijah knew he had to take a chance that he could
keep Ruben safe—even if it meant calling in every favor he had and
enlisting the aid of the entire Blaecleah clan.

But first, he had to get Ruben to agree not to kick him to the curb.

Elijah pushed away from the archway and walked around the dining
room table to Ruben. He watched Ruben’s eyes widen as he took
Alani out of his arms. He pressed a small kiss to the top of Alani’s
head then handed her to her grandmother.

Elijah grabbed Ruben’s face between his hands.
Ruben’s jaw dropped. “Elijah, wha—”
“I already lost one man that I loved. I won’t lose you, too.”
“Elijah!” Ruben looked shocked like he never conceived of the

idea that Elijah could love him, or admit it in a room full of people.

“I’ll do everything I can, call in every favor owed to me, and beg

anyone else to keep you and Alani safe. If that doesn’t work, I’ll bribe
them or blackmail them.” Elijah rubbed his thumb along Ruben’s
cheek, but he refused to let go of the man. Now that he had his hands
on Ruben, he couldn’t let go. “I’m not losing you.”

Cowboy Up

“But what about”—Ruben’s eyes darted to the others standing in

the room—“you know.”

Elijah knew what he needed to do. He wrapped his arm around

Ruben’s shoulders and turned to face the man’s family. He took a
deep breath. “I’m gay, and I’m in love with Ruben.”

There were a few chuckles, a high five between Matty and Billy,

and one exchange of money—a bet apparently—but other than that,
no one looked at them strange. Elijah suspected they had known all
along.

“Well, of course you do, Elijah,” Ma said. “We all know that.”
“Son, I’m pretty sure everyone in town knows,” Da added.
That was news to Elijah, but he would take it if it meant keeping

Ruben in his arms. “Well, what you don’t know is that I made a
complete ass out of myself earlier today. I was afraid of anyone
finding out about Ruben and me, and I hurt him because of it.”

“Elijah, you don’t have to—”
Elijah pressed a finger over Ruben’s lips. “Yeah, baby, I do. They

need to know, and so do you. I’m not an asshole without reason. It
may not be a very good reason, but I promise there is one.”

Ruben swallowed hard. “Okay, I’m listening.”
It was far more than Elijah could have hoped for.
“Why don’t you all sit down,” Ma said. “I’ll just go put Alani

down and then get us all some tea and pie.”

“I’ll help, Ma,” Billy said as he went into the kitchen.
Elijah allowed Ruben to sit down but grabbed his hand as soon as

he did. He needed some sort of contact with the man. He waited until
the baby had been laid down and everyone sat down at the table
before speaking. Now that the time was here, Elijah realized how hard
it was going to be to tell his tale. But he had to start somewhere.

“Several years ago, I met a man named Thomas. He was a lot like

Ruben in the fact that they were both very out of the closet. I was not.
I had barely acknowledged to myself that I had a desire for men. And

Stormy Glenn

Thomas scared the hell out of me because he decided it was his
mission in life to pull me out of the closet, kicking and screaming.”

Elijah chuckled softly as he gazed down at where Ruben’s hand

wrapped around his own. “He not only pulled me out, he burned the
damn closet down. I was out and proud, and I didn’t care who knew. I
was in love.”

Elijah was a little surprised when Ruben squeezed his hand and

sent him a small smile, especially considering he was talking about
being in love with another man. It just went to show Elijah how
special Ruben was.

“What happened?” Ma asked.
Elijah licked his lips. “One night we were headed home from the

movies. It was summer out, so we decided to walk. The theater was
only a few blocks from our condo.”

“You were living together?” Ruben asked.
Elijah nodded. “We had been living together for a few years by

then, and we were happy. We had our work, our little group of friends
that we hung out with, and our condo that we purchased together. It
was a good life.”

“What happened?”
“Apparently we were a little too out of the closet. We were

holding hands as we walked home, bumping shoulders and stuff. We
had just watched a good movie, had dinner. We were out on a date.
We were happy. It wasn’t like we were having sex on the sidewalk or
anything.”

Elijah swallowed hard and watched as he rubbed his thumb across

Ruben’s skin. “We were attacked by a group of men that didn’t like
the fact that we were holding hands in public. The police called it a
gay bashing gone wrong. All I knew was that Thomas got knocked
out and he never woke up.”

“Ohhh,” Ma gasped. “Oh, son, I’m so sorry.”
Elijah pressed his lips together for a moment, blinking rapidly as

sadness welled up inside of him. “They never caught the men that

Cowboy Up

killed Thomas. It’s still an unsolved crime. I have nightmares that
those men are still out there, killing other gay men or coming after
me.”

Ruben growled. His hand tightened around Elijah’s. “I’d like to

see them try.”

Elijah smiled despite the heartache he felt. “It was front-page

news for quite awhile, and it kind of felt like being attacked all over
again. I received hate mail, threatening phone calls, and people
followed me on the streets. I got fired from my job because of the
publicity. I wasn’t even allowed to attend Thomas’s funeral because
his parents blamed me for his death.”

“You didn’t kill him!” Ruben snapped.
“No, but if we hadn’t been holding hands, then it never would

have happened.”

Ruben inhaled sharply. “That’s why—”
Elijah started nodding before Ruben even finished. “I have no

problem being gay or loving a man in private, but it scares the
daylights out of me to do it in public. If someone saw me and decided
that they didn’t like what they saw”—Elijah shook his head—“I can’t
lose someone else I love.”

Elijah’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head when Ruben let go of

his hand and climbed onto his lap, straddling him. He stared up at
Ruben in shock when the man grabbed his face. “Ruben.” Everyone
was watching them.

“We’ll take it slow,” Ruben said. “We can start with PDAs here at

the ranch and work up to the more public stuff.”

“PDAs?”
“Public Displays of Affection.”
“Jeez, there’s an acronym for it?”
Ruben grinned. “Yep.”
Elijah rolled his eyes when everyone around the table laughed. He

felt a little self-conscious and exposed with Ruben straddling his lap,

Stormy Glenn

especially considering nearly every member of his family sat there
watching.

But little by little, Elijah began to notice that no one was looking

at them like they were doing anything wrong. In fact, most of them
were sitting as close together as they possibly could. Even Ma and Da
sat with their shoulders touching, their hands entwined together,
resting on the table.

Elijah was still uncomfortable, though. He was surprised when

Ruben seemed to realize it. Ruben just smiled, leaned down to give
him a light kiss, then climbed off his lap to sit back in his chair. Elijah
quickly grabbed his hand and folded it between his. That gesture
gained him a smile, and that was good enough for now.

Elijah cleared his throat and looked around the room. It was an

impressive group of people sitting at the table. It only lacked Brody
and Neason. “We need to make a plan to keep Ruben and Alani safe
from whoever is after them. I suspect he is right and that it is Janice,
but at the moment, there is no way to prove it.”

“Just what do you have in mind, Son?” Da asked.
“There’s a private investigator that I use from time to time. I’d

like him to find out exactly what Janice is doing, who she is seeing or
talking to, but mostly where she is at. If she has anything to do with
this, I want to know.”

“Well, it’s not like she’s just going to say she’s involved,” Matty

said.

“No, but my PI friend can look in places that I can’t.”
Matty frowned. “Why can’t you?”
Elijah’s lips twisted a bit. “Because I’m legally bound to uphold

the law.”

“Oh.” Matty’s eyes were wide when he looked up at his husband.

“Are you bound by the law, too?”

“Hell, no.” Quaid chuckled. “I’m a rancher, not an attorney. I can

string her up by her feet and call it culling a cow.”

“Quaid Blaecleah,” Ma snapped. “Watch your mouth.”

Cowboy Up

Matty covered his mouth with his hand as he laughed. Quaid just

grinned and pulled Matty closer to his side.

“Yes, Ma. Sorry.”
Ma nodded and went back to drinking her tea.
“Why don’t you call your friend, Elijah,” Da said. “The sheriff

should be here soon, and we can make a police report. In the
meantime, I don’t want Ruben going anywhere without one of us at
his side.”

“Aahhh, Da,” Ruben whined.
“It’s not up for debate, son. You have a daughter now. What

would happen to her if you were hurt or worse?”

Elijah felt Ruben shudder against him. He quickly wrapped an

arm around Ruben’s shoulders and pulled him as close as possible
without pulling Ruben onto his lap. He leaned over and pressed his
face into Ruben’s sweet-smelling hair.

“Your da is right, baby. What would happen to Alani or me if

something happened to you? Our number-one priority needs to be
keeping the two of you safe while we figure out what’s going on.”

Ruben tilted his head back. “I’ll make you a deal.”
Elijah didn’t like the wicked gleam in Ruben’s eyes. “What?”
“I promise to keep someone with me at all times if you promise to

hold my hand while we’re out in public.”

“Ruben.” Elijah groaned and dropped his head back.
“Ruben, you should know better,” Da said. “That’s emotional

blackmail, and it’s not nice. Elijah is worried about you. Don’t use
that against him to get what you want.”

Ruben’s head dropped down to Elijah’s shoulder. “Sorry,” Elijah

heard him whisper into his ear. Elijah sighed. Ruben was bound and
determined to drag him out of the closet, just like Thomas had. Elijah
just hoped he could keep this lover alive when it happened. And he
knew it would eventually happen. Ruben wasn’t going to let there be
any other outcome.

Stormy Glenn

“I’ll tell you what,” Elijah said quietly, “I’ll hold your hand in

public, but only when Alani isn’t there.”

“What?” Ruben’s head snapped up. Confusion and a little bit of

hurt filled his hazel eyes. “Why?”

“Because I need us to be able to defend ourselves if someone

causes problems, and we can’t do that when Alani is with us.”

“But—”
“It’s a reasonable request, son,” Da said.
Ruben’s head whipped around. “Yeah, but Alani is almost always

with me.”

“Small steps, Ruben,” Da reminded him.
Ruben’s shoulders slumped. “Okay, you have a deal.”
“Thank you, Ruben,” Elijah said quietly. He started to smile, but it

quickly turned into a frown when Ruben’s eyes turned wicked and he
grinned.

“Does that rule apply to when we’re out here on the ranch?”
Elijah chuckled. “No, baby, I’m pretty sure that your family

knows exactly how I feel about you, and I suspect as long as I don’t
hurt you, they could care less.”

Da snorted. “Yeah, pretty much.”
Elijah almost jumped when he heard a knock at the front door.

Quaid quickly got up. “I think that’s probably the sheriff. I’ll go let
him in,” he said as he walked out of the room.

“So how long do you think it will take you to get a hold of your PI

friend?” Ruben asked. “I want this to be over with.”

“I can call him right now.” Elijah reached into his pocket for his

cell phone just as the sheriff walked into the room and looked around
at everyone.

“I hear you all have had a little excitement out here.”

Cowboy Up

Chapter 9

“We don’t have to do this, Elijah.” Ruben could see the tension in

every line of Elijah’s body as they sat in his car. If Elijah’s grip on the
steering wheel got any tighter, he might snap the damn thing in two.

“No, I have to do this.” Elijah sent Ruben a nervous little smile.

“A deal is a deal, after all.”

“Elijah.” Ruben gulped and stared down at his hands, twisting his

fingers together. “I didn’t mean it. Well, I did. I want you to hold my
hand, but—”

The rest of Ruben’s words were lost when Elijah grabbed his chin

and kissed him. Ruben groaned and pressed closer. He wished they
were back home at the ranch instead of sitting in a car on the side of
the street in the middle of downtown Cade Creek. He would have
crawled all over Elijah.

Ruben was breathless by the time Elijah let go of him. He couldn’t

seem to string together a single coherent thought. He just sat and
stared at Elijah’s lips while licking his own. Ruben’s eyes snapped up
when Elijah chuckled.

Elijah reached over and rubbed his thumb over Ruben’s lips.

“Now, you look thoroughly kissed.”

Ruben’s jaw dropped. “That’s what you were going for?”
“Well, that”—Elijah grinned—“and I just like kissing you.”
Ruben could go along with that idea. Overjoyed at Elijah’s sweet

gesture, he couldn’t keep the smile off his face as he climbed from the
car and waited for Elijah to join him on the sidewalk.

They were going to the local café to meet with Elijah’s PI friend

and talk to him. The man had driven in the previous night. He’d

Stormy Glenn

already done some digging, but he wanted to talk to them in person
about the case. Ruben was anxious to talk with the man about what he
may or may not have found out about Janice and her activities. But he
was more nervous about whether Elijah would hold his hand or not
like he said he would.

Alani was at home.
Ruben’s heart began to sink when Elijah paused at the edge of the

sidewalk and just stared at him. He couldn’t force Elijah to come out
of the closet not matter how much he wanted to. And this wouldn’t
necessarily make or break their relationship. But it sure would go a
long ways toward cementing it.

Then Elijah pressed his lips together and walked the distance

between them, reaching for his hand. Ruben held his hand out of
reach and stepped back so fast that he almost tripped over his own
two feet.

“Ruben?”
“I’m not going to do this if you’re going to hate me, Elijah.”
“I could never hate you, Ruben. I just—” Elijah blew out a deep

breath as he pushed his hand through his hair, leaving it rumpled and
unruly. “This is really hard for me.”

Ruben’s heart ached, both for himself and for Elijah. While it still

hurt, it was a little easier to understand Elijah’s reluctance for shows
of affection in public now that he knew the reason why. He slowly
lowered his arm then shoved both of his hands into his pockets.
“Maybe next time then,” he said as he brushed past Elijah and started
walking toward the Cade Creek café.

Ruben tried really hard to remember that this wasn’t anything

against him. Elijah was not ashamed of him. He was just scared. But
it sure as shit felt like it to Ruben. It felt a lot like what growing up
around his father and mother felt like. They never wanted to touch
him either.

Family affection was not something Ruben had grown up with.

Even Matty had to be careful when their parents were around. They’d

Cowboy Up

accuse him of being too soft on Ruben, and then the yelling and
fighting would begin.

It wasn’t until Ruben met the Blaecleahs that he truly knew what

being loved meant. And that was something he wanted to keep in his
life and pass on to Alani. Elijah was caring enough out at the ranch,
but his refusal to touch in public cut deep, no matter how much Ruben
knew it came from past memories.

“Ruben, stop.”
When he didn’t stop, Ruben felt a hand on his arm, pulling him to

a stop. He turned to look at Elijah, trying to keep his anguish off his
face and out of his voice. “I’m sorry. I thought this would be easier
for me, but it’s not. I’m trying really hard to give you the space and
the time you need, but it’s just as hard for me as this whole situation
is for you.”

“It’s okay, Ruben.”
“No, it’s not okay. I told you that I would give you the time you

needed, and I’m throwing a temper tantrum when you don’t move on
my time schedule, but I can’t seem to stop.” Ruben raised his eyes to
Elijah’s when the man moved closer. He felt like second-day dung.
“I’m sorry.”

“I think maybe it is time for me to cowboy up.”
Ruben blinked. “Huh?”
Ruben followed Elijah’s gaze as he turned left and then right.

There weren’t a ton of people on the streets but enough that Ruben
knew Elijah would never feel comfortable holding his hand. He was
shocked right down to his toes when Elijah grabbed his face between
his hands and leaned in to kiss him right there on the sidewalk in the
middle of Main Street.

But the kiss didn’t just stop at a simple touch of their lips. Ruben

felt Elijah’s tongue brush across his lips, looking for acceptance.
Ruben may have been a lot of things, but he wasn’t born yesterday.
He opened his mouth and allowed Elijah in, stroking back with his
own tongue.

Stormy Glenn

His knees almost buckled when he felt one of Elijah’s arms wrap

around him. Elijah’s hand fisted in his hair, holding his head still as
his mouth was plundered. Ruben whimpered, feeling his cock harden
and brush against Elijah’s.

“Eli,” Ruben whispered when the man finally pulled away. He felt

flushed, and horny as hell. He looked up at Elijah and almost sighed
in relief when he saw the same desire shining in Elijah’s eyes that was
racing through his body.

It was only as someone chuckled as they walked by that Ruben

remembered where they were. He swallowed hard as trepidation filled
him. “Oh, Eli, I—”

Elijah grinned and rubbed his thumb over Ruben’s lips much as he

had in the car. “Now, you really look like you’ve been kissed.”

Ruben’s eyes rounded. “You do remember where we are, right?”
“Yeah, and I think everyone got the message loud and clear.”

Elijah reached down and grabbed Ruben’s hand and pulled him
toward the door of the café. “Our lunch meeting is waiting.”

Ruben’s mind was reeling. Not only was Elijah holding his hand,

the man had practically made out with him in the center of town.
Ruben began to grin, his hand tightening around Elijah’s with each
step they took. By the time they reached their booth, Ruben couldn’t
stop smiling.

He scooted into the booth Elijah indicated and looked across at the

man sitting on the other side of the table. Funny, he didn’t look like a
private investigator. He looked like a boxer or a thug, maybe a bar
bouncer. Definitely a mobster. There was no shortage of muscles on
the guy—anywhere. His arms practically had their own zip code.

Ruben flushed when the man caught him gawking and arched a

dark eyebrow at him. He quickly looked away and then reached under
the table to grab Elijah’s hand.

“Elijah, it’s been awhile.”
“It has,” Elijah replied. “It’s good to see you, Yancy.”
“And who is this delicious little morsel?”

Cowboy Up

Ruben swallowed hard when dark, smoky-gray eyes turned in his

direction. He wasn’t sure if he wanted Elijah to answer or not. He felt
like he was being eaten alive.

“This is my baby, Ruben Blaecleah.”
“So, this is the famous Ruben, huh?” Yancy chuckled and winked

at Ruben. “It’s nice to finally meet you, honey.”

Ruben’s jaw dropped. Had the mountain of a man just called him

honey?

“It’s a good thing you call everyone honey, Yancy,” Elijah said in

a deep, growly voice that sent Ruben’s pulse pounding, “or I’d have
to rip off your balls and feed them to you.”

Ruben’s eyes snapped to Elijah as shock rolled through him. He

felt like his jaw was going to come unhinged. Elijah was actually
threatening someone? And he chose a man that could break him like a
twig to do it? Ruben didn’t know whether to be frightened or aroused
by Elijah’s show of possessiveness.

Yancy just laughed. It was a full belly laugh, filling the area

around them enough to get a few smiles from other customers. Ruben
had the sudden urge to slide under the table, and he wondered if that
was how Elijah felt.

“What did you find out?” Elijah asked.
Yancy was suddenly all business. He sat up straighter, and the

smile fell from his lips. Ruben swallowed hard, knowing he wasn’t
going to like what he was about to hear, not if Yancy was that serious.
Ruben squeezed Elijah’s hand tighter as fear gripped him.

“Janice McCallister rented a house here in Cade Creek two weeks

ago.”

“What?” Ruben whispered. He suddenly felt like he couldn’t

breathe. Only the soothing touch of Elijah’s hand sliding down his
back returned the air to his lungs.

Yancy nodded. “She still has her house back in your hometown

and returns there every weekend to go to church, but during the
weekdays, she’s here in town.”

Stormy Glenn

“But why would she rent a house here in town?”
“She wants your daughter,” Yancy said simply, like that explained

everything.

“I already know that.”
“Yes, but do you know why she wants your daughter?”
Ruben shook his head. “That’s what I can’t figure out. She hates

me and my brother with a passion. There’s no reason for her to want
anything to do with us.”

“I don’t actually think she does want anything to do with you

personally, or your brother. She has her sights set on someone a little
smaller.” Yancy grimaced as he reached down beside him and
grabbed a folder, setting it on the table. “How much do you know
about your father’s will?”

Ruben gaped. “My father had a will?”
Yancy chuckled. “Well, I guess that answers that question.”
He opened up the file and handed Elijah the top few pieces of

paper. They were very legal looking, which was why it made sense to
Ruben that they had been given to Elijah. Ruben wouldn’t have a clue
what he was looking at.

“What does it say?” Ruben asked Elijah.
“Basically, your father set up a large trust fund in the amount of

several million dollars. The money was left to the first child born of
the legally binding marriage between you or Matty and an unnamed
female. Any child born outside of a legally binding union between
you and a woman would be ineligible for the trust.”

“Fuck me,” Ruben whispered. “He’s still trying to control us, even

from the grave.” Ruben glanced up when he felt Elijah pat his hand.
As good as it felt, he could see the question in Elijah’s eyes. “What?”

“You were legally married to Mahra when Alani was born,

Ruben. By rights, this money belongs to your daughter now.”

Ruben inhaled sharply. He could feel the blood drain from his

face, and a freezing-cold chill swept through his body. “That’s why
she wants Alani so bad.”

Cowboy Up

“I suspect you’re right,” Yancy said. “Your mother—”
“She’s not my mother!” Ruben snapped. “Alani Blaecleah is my

mother. Janice was never a mother even before I was adopted by the
Blaecleah family. I want nothing to do with the bitch.”

Yancy held up a hand. “My apologies, Ruben.”
Ruben ducked his head when he saw several customers turning to

look at him. He hadn’t realized how loud he had spoken. Now, he
really wanted to slide under the table. “No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have
yelled at you like that. You didn’t know.”

“Please continue, Yancy,” Elijah said, which Ruben was grateful

for.

“I believe you are correct about her wanting to take Alani because

of the money. Janice McCallister has been living on a small income
left to her by her late husband, the Reverend McCallister.
Unfortunately, she has been living above her means and is almost out
of funds.”

Ruben’s eyebrows shot up. “Above her means?” When had his

mother ever lived above her means? They might not have been dirt
ass poor but close to it. The reverend always said that they didn’t need
material items. They never had much because of that.

“She’s had the house remodeled, taken several trips to the

Caribbean, and has a new Mercedes convertible. She also has a
gardener, maid, and a pool boy that stays in the house.”

“She has a pool?”
Yancy nodded. “It was put in when the house was remodeled.”
“How?” Ruben was so confused. “We never had that type of

money. Where is she getting it all from?”

“Reverend McCallister left Janice the sum of ten million dollars

when he died. With her spending habits, she’s down to less than a
million dollars currently. She already has creditors starting to come
after her. If she continues as she has been doing, she will be bankrupt
within six months. I have no doubt that she will have to sell the house
and several of your father’s holdings.”

Stormy Glenn

Ruben frowned. “What holdings? He was a minister.”
“He was a rich minister. He also owned the land that the church

was built on as well as several lucrative businesses in and around
town. I suspect that that was how your father kept such a stranglehold
on the town. If they pissed him off, he just foreclosed on them.”

“Can you prove it?” Ruben asked. Surely there had to be a way to

prove it.

“Unfortunately, at the moment I cannot. I haven’t caught Janice

doing anything illegal, yet. I suspect in time, I will. She wants this
money too much to give up now.”

“What about what the reverend was doing?” Ruben asked. “Was

any of that illegal?”

“I’m still looking into that. At the moment, it seems that all of his

business practices were aboveboard.”

“They weren’t,” Ruben said. “I can promise you that. Dig deeper.

That man didn’t have an honorable bone in his body. If he could
screw someone, he would have, and there has to be a record of it
somewhere.”

“I’ll do that.” Yancy rested his elbows on the table and folded his

hands together. “Is there anything else you can tell me? Any direction
I should look into?”

Elijah nodded. “We think Janice was responsible for whoever

tried to drive Ruben off the road a couple of nights ago.”

Yancy’s eyebrow arched as his eyes moved to Ruben. “Someone

tried to run you off the road?”

“Yeah. They started following me really close then smacked

bumpers with me.”

“How did you get away?”
Ruben grinned. “Family, how else?”
Yancy’s eyes shot between Ruben and Elijah, his eyebrows

drawing down in confusion. “I don’t understand.”

“Ruben called me. I called the Blaecleahs. They all came to the

rescue.”

Cowboy Up

Yancy shook his head as he chuckled. “I have got to meet this

family.”

Ruben got a sudden wicked idea. If he was guessing right, Yancy

liked men just as much as he did, and there was one more single
Blaecleah brother. Maybe he could fix that. “Why don’t you come out
to the house for dinner? Ma’s a great cook, and it would give you a
chance to fill us in on whatever else you know.”

Elijah seemed confused for a moment but nodded anyway. “Yes,

Yancy, that would be a great idea. If we all put our heads together, we
can come up with a way to beat this woman. I won’t allow anything to
happen to Ruben and Alani. They belong to me now.”

Elijah was claiming him and Alani loud and clear in public.

Ruben felt like shouting for joy, but he didn’t. Instead, he just
squeezed Elijah’s hand and turned his face to press a small kiss
against the man’s shoulder.

“So”—Yancy grinned and leaned back in his booth—“Elijah

James has finally come out of the closet and claimed himself a family.
Congratulations, my friend. After Thomas died, I never thought I’d
see the day.”

“You knew Thomas?” Ruben wasn’t sure how he felt about that.

He hadn’t decided how he felt about the whole Thomas situation at
all. There hadn’t been a lot of time to dwell on Elijah’s dead lover.

“Yancy was one of the detectives that investigated Thomas’s

murder,” Elijah said. “That’s how we met.”

“Oh.” Ruben frowned. “But I thought you were a private

investigator.”

“I am, honey.” Yancy smiled for a moment then grew serious.

That seemed to be something Yancy did a lot. “The whole case with
Thomas’s death was fucked up, and not all of it on the killer’s side of
things. The police and media royally fucked it all up. When the
limelight on the case died down and I was given orders to stop
investigating and let it go to a cold case, I quit the force and became a
PI.”

Stormy Glenn

Ruben’s jaw slackened. “They actually told you to drop the case?”
“Not in so many words, but yeah. Some evidence got mishandled,

and there was a leak inside the department. Things got out to the
media that never should have gotten out. The chief of police and
mayor wanted the whole thing swept under the rug.”

Ruben put two and two together and didn’t like what he came up

with. “That’s why the case has never been solved, isn’t it? They don’t
want their mistakes to come to light.”

Yancy nodded. “That, and the fact that my chief suspect is the son

of a man that is one of the wealthiest men in the city and a friend of
the mayor’s.”

“Fuck.”
Elijah chuckled and kissed Ruben on the cheek. “No swearing,

baby. What would Ma think?”

“Ma would kick my a–a–butt.” Ruben chuckled and shook his

head. “I have so got to stop swearing. If Alani starts repeating me, Ma
is gonna skin me alive.”

Elijah wrapped an arm around Ruben’s shoulders and gave him a

small hug. “Not to worry, baby. I’ll protect you.”

“From Ma? Are you nuts? She’ll skin you, too, just for trying.”
“I’m not sure I want to meet this woman,” Yancy said as he sat

back and leaned against the booth seat. “She sounds worse than
Janice.”

Ruben nailed Yancy to his seat with narrowed eyes. “I’m going to

let you live just because you’ve never met my ma, but don’t ever let
me hear you say something bad about her again.”

Yancy’s eyes widened. “You’re defending her?”
“I am.”
Yancy’s dark eyebrows drew together in a deep frown. “But you

just said—”

“Ma is the sweetest, most loving woman on the face of the earth,

but don’t piss her off.” Elijah chuckled lightly. “The quickest way to
do that is to fuck with one of her boys or swear in front of her. She

Cowboy Up

can make the strongest man alive quake in his boots, even you,
Yancy.”

“Okay.” Yancy rubbed both of his hands down his face then

stared across the table at Elijah and Ruben. “Now you all are
confusing me. Is she someone I need to be afraid of not?”

“Yes!” Both Elijah and Ruben said at the same time. A few of the

people sitting around them snickered and started nodding, which just
sent Ruben into peals of laughter.

“Ma loves us,” Ruben said. “She’d do anything for us, even die

for us. But that woman scares the crap out of me when she’s pissed
off.”

Yancy started to grin.
“You think it’s funny? Wait until her wrath is aimed in your

direction and see how you feel. I’ve seen my brother Quaid shake in
his boots when she was mad at him, and he’s six foot five.”

“You adore her,” Yancy said. “I can see it in your eyes.”
“Hell, yes, I adore her,” Ruben said. “She’s my ma.”
“Come on, babe,” Elijah said as he slid from the booth and

reached back for Ruben. “He’s never going to understand until he
meets Ma.”

Ruben chuckled and slid from the booth. Yancy Butler had no

idea what he was in for. The man might be built as big as a diesel
truck, but Ma Blaecleah, as small as she was, had the ability to bring
mortal men to their knees with a single arch of her eyebrow.

Ruben followed Elijah out the door and down the sidewalk with

Elijah. Yancy sauntered behind them. And yes, the man sauntered. He
looked casual, laid-back, and easygoing. Only Ruben could see the
cautious way he scanned the street and sidewalk, scrutinizing every
person he saw. It was actually kind of creepy.

Ruben hoped he never lost faith in humanity the way he could see

Yancy had. The private investigator seemed to mistrust every person
he saw, or maybe he just saw potential danger everywhere.

100

Stormy Glenn

It was scary to think like that. Ruben knew anything was possible,

but he’d rather believe he was safe in Cade Creek, even if he wasn’t.
He didn’t want to spend his life looking for trouble in every little
corner. He’d done enough of that in Africa.

“Just follow us, Yancy,” Elijah said as they reached the car. “The

Blaecleah ranch is just a few miles outside of town.”

Yancy nodded and walked over to a truck just a few vehicles over

from Elijah’s. Ruben shook his head and started to climb into the car
when an odd feeling came over him. The hairs on the back of his neck
stood up, and he suddenly knew he was being watched.

Ruben quickly scanned the surrounding area, his eyes coming to

land on a man sitting in a dark four-door sedan on the far side of the
street and several cars down. He had a camera in his hands and was
taking photographs of them. Ruben swallowed hard and continued to
look up and down the street as if he was just looking.

“Elijah, don’t look, but there’s a man in a car across the street

taking pictures of us.”

“I know, Ruben. I saw him. Just get in the car and don’t look at

him. I’ll send Yancy a text as soon as we get on the road.”

Ruben nodded and gave Elijah a wobbly smile as he climbed into

the car. Elijah slid into the driver’s seat a moment later and turned on
the car. Ruben held out his hand. “You drive. I’ll text Yancy.”

Elijah handed over his cell phone without comment. Ruben

quickly looked through Elijah’s contacts until he found Yancy’s
number then sent him a text message with the description of the car
and the man with the camera.

Not two minutes later, he received one back from Yancy stating

that he had seen the guy and taken down his license plate number. He
already had someone looking into it. He was also going to circle
around and watch the guy for a little while, see if he followed Ruben
and Elijah, or where he went. He’d come out to the ranch later.

Ruben breathed a sigh of relief and snapped the phone closed,

handing it back to Elijah. “I’m really scared, Elijah.”

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101

Elijah smiled and patted Ruben’s thigh. “I know, baby. I am, too.

This is starting to get really weird. I’m beginning to think that Janice
plans on trying to take Alani from you due to your gay status.”

“She can’t do that!”
“Normally, I would say that is true, but it is not always the case.

You were legally married to her mother, and that right there might
save you.”

“But?”
“You’re with me now, and that might change things a bit.”
“How?”
“I just came out of the closet.”
“Yeah, and?”
“Well, after kissing you in full view of everyone on Main Street,

it’s pretty obvious that I’ve dragged you over to the dark side. If
Janice gets the right judge, she can state that you are raising Alani in
an immoral atmosphere, sleeping around with any gay man that will
have you.”

“I was a virgin!”
“Can you prove that?”
“Yes, I—” Ruben snapped his mouth closed when he realized

there would be no way to prove he had been a virgin before Elijah
came along. Ruben suddenly frowned. “You believe me, don’t you?”

“Yes, baby, I do. You would never lie about something like that.

But what I believe cannot be proven in a court of law, and since I’m
the gay lover in question, the judge would never take my word for it.”
Elijah winked at Ruben. “I’m a little biased.”

“Isn’t there anything we can do to stop her?”
The look that Elijah sent Ruben made his knees quake. It was

filled with lust and need and a desire so fierce that Ruben felt it settle
in his balls and make his cock hard enough to cut glass.

“Marry me.”
Ruben’s eyes bugged. Surely he hadn’t heard right. “What?”

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Stormy Glenn

“Marry me and let me adopt Alani. I have better standing to work

within the law if we’re legally bound to each other.”

Ruben’s heart shuddered with anguish. Elijah only wanted to

marry him to keep him and Alani safe. He wouldn’t have asked under
normal circumstances. Just a little while ago, Elijah could barely
touch him in public, and now he wanted to get married for all of the
world to see? Ruben didn’t think so.

No matter how much he loved Elijah and wanted to spend the rest

of his life with the man, Ruben gave the only answer he could.

“No.”

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103

Chapter 10

Elijah sat on the couch and watched the entire Blaecleah clan

making plans to keep Ruben and Alani safe. He felt left out. Sure,
they asked him legal questions like what was allowable by law and
not. But not a single one of them, not even Ruben, asked him his
opinion.

In fact, Ruben hadn’t spoken a single word to him since he had

turned down Elijah’s marriage proposal. Elijah was still trying to
figure that one out. He knew he wasn’t that fantastic of a catch. He
had a lot of baggage to deal with. But he was pretty sure he had
something to offer Ruben. He had a good career, money in savings,
and a nice cottage they could all live in with Alani. He’d even be
agreeable to moving out to the house Ruben was having built if that’s
what the man wanted.

He just wanted Ruben and Alani.
Forever.
Elijah didn’t miss the fact that no one paid him any attention when

he got up and walked out of the room. It was like he wasn’t even
there. He grabbed his jacket and walked right out the front door to the
porch.

He couldn’t leave. He knew that. He was drawn to wherever

Ruben was like there was an invisible rope tethered between them.
Elijah walked over and sat down in one of the chairs on the porch. He
dropped his head down into his hands as he tried to figure out how
everything had gone so wrong.

Had he waited too long to claim Ruben as his? Did Ruben regret

their time together? Did the man not want him anymore?

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Elijah’s head snapped up when he heard someone sit down in the

chair beside him. He glanced over to see Da sitting there. The man
leaned forward in his chair, resting his elbows on his thighs. He didn’t
say a word. After a few minutes, the silence started to get to Elijah.
He felt like he was being scrutinized and found lacking.

“I asked Ruben to marry me.”
“Is that so?”
“He turned me down.” The words stabbed at him, making his

heart ache. He gripped his hands together. The need to rant and rave
and scream out his pain was riding him hard. He just didn’t
understand. “I thought he loved me.”

“I suspect he does, son.”
“Why did he turn me down?” Elijah cried out. “I just want to take

care of him and Alani and keep them both safe. I–I want to slay all of
Ruben’s dragons for him.”

“You don’t think Ruben can slay his own dragons then?”
“Huh?” Elijah turned to look at Da.
“You believe Ruben is so weak that he needs someone to care for

him?”

“No!” Elijah frowned. “What would make you say something like

that? Ruben is one of the strongest men I have ever met.” Elijah
waved his hand in the air as his agitation grew. “Look at all he has
done with Alani.”

“Then why would you want to slay his dragons?”
Was Da daft?
“Because I love him. Because he needs someone in his corner.

Because he’s the most amazing man I have ever met.” Elijah
swallowed hard at the knowing glint in Da’s eyes. “Because I need
him more than I need air.”

“That’s an awful lot of need, Son. Air is pretty important.”
Elijah smirked. “So is Ruben.”
“Did you tell him all of this?” Da asked as he sat back, staring at

Elijah and waiting for an answer.

Cowboy Up

105

“Well…no,” Elijah said as he looked back at Da. Didn’t Ruben

already know this? Didn’t Ruben know that Elijah couldn’t live
without him?

“Then I think you have something to tell my son,” Da said as he

leaned forward once more. “Did you ask him properly?”

Properly? What the hell did that mean? He had asked Ruben to

marry him, and the man had turned him down. Elijah couldn’t think
of any other way to ask than flat out. “I’m not following you.”

Da chuckled as he shook his head. “When I asked Ma to marry

me, I told her how I felt about her. She knew that the moon and the
stars shone just for her. Does Ruben know this?”

Elijah blew out a breath as he shook his head, feeling so out of his

depth here that he might as well have been drowning. “No.”

It was too true of a fact. He had just asked Ruben to marry him,

nothing more. He hadn’t told his lover how much he meant or
dropped to one knee, nothing. Elijah stood, shoving his hands in his
pockets as he stared out over the Blaecleah ranch.

He hadn’t told Ruben a lot of things.
Sure, the guy knew Elijah loved him and was trying his hardest to

deal with PDA, as Ruben put it, but he hadn’t really told the man how
deeply he loved him or how soul stirring his very presence was to
Elijah.

“Go inside,” Da growled.
Elijah heard a car coming down the driveway as he turned to look

over his shoulder. He grinned at Da’s protectiveness. Elijah felt pride
race through him knowing he was a part of the Blaecleah family from
what he was witnessing on Da’s face.

“He’s the PI I hired,” Elijah said as he swallowed at the dark look

shadowing Da’s face. The man looked fierce, strong, and downright
scary at the moment, until his features relaxed at Elijah’s words.

“Then invite him in,” Da said as he walked back into the house.
Elijah waited on the porch as Yancy’s car approached. He wanted

to run inside, drop to one knee before Ruben, and confess just how

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deeply he felt about him, the man he loved with every fiber in him,
but Elijah also wanted to see what Yancy had to say. Protecting
Ruben and Alani were pretty high up on his list of priorities.

He began to take walk down the front steps when he heard a

gunshot. Before he could duck, or run, or do any damn thing, Elijah
was falling to the porch, blood splashing a deep crimson across his
chest as he blacked out.

* * * *

Ruben’s heart stuttered in his chest when he heard the gunshot

from outside. He knew something horrible had happened to Elijah. He
just knew it. He thrust Alani into Ma’s arms and ran for the front
porch, yelling for his brothers to watch after his daughter over his
shoulder.

“Ruben, no!” Lachlan shouted as Ruben’s shoulder hit the front

door, slamming it open.

Ruben ignored the man and pushed right on through the doorway.

He needed to get to Elijah, but he wasn’t stupid. The second he was
out on the porch, he crouched down low and hid himself behind the
porch railing.

“Elijah?”
“He’s down, son.”
Ruben’s gaze snapped to the left. Da was hunched down behind

one of the chairs. Elijah lay on the porch floor just inches from Da.
Dark red blood pooled under Elijah, and he wasn’t moving.

“Is he…is he…” Ruben felt tears start to stream down his face.

“Da?”

“He’s alive, Ruben, just unconscious.”
A small sob of gratitude to the powers that be escaped Ruben’s

lips. “How badly is he hurt, Da?”

“He’s been shot, Son. He needs an ambulance.”
“We need to get him into the house.”

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“Just give it a moment, son. I saw Elijah’s friend take off in the

direction the shot came from. Let him track whoever is shooting at us
before we move. If the shooter is still out there, he might not miss
next time.”

Ruben nodded, but all he wanted to do was get to Elijah’s side and

hold him, reassure himself that his love was alive. He looked around
the darkness and tried to see something, anything.

Nothing.
Snow was falling to the ground just past the porch roof, but it fell

silently to the ground. It was eerily silent. Under normal
circumstances, Ruben would have enjoyed the quiet night. He might
even have brought Alani outside to see it.

Nothing about this situation was normal.
Ruben screamed and swung out with his fist when he felt a hand

come down on his shoulder. He heard a grunt then his hands were
suddenly caught and held behind his back.

“That fucking hurt!”
“Yancy?”
“Who in the hell did you think it was?”
Ruben slumped against the huge man. “Oh my gods, Yancy. You

scared the crap out of me.”

Yancy chuckled. “I do tend to have that effect on gorgeous men,

honey.”

Ruben snorted and pulled away from Yancy, slugging him in the

shoulder. Yancy yelped, even though Ruben knew he hadn’t hurt the
guy. A bus couldn’t hurt Yancy. Ruben just rolled his eyes and turned
back to Da and Elijah.

“Did you find anything?” Ruben asked as he glanced over his

shoulder. “Is it safe to go to Elijah?”

“It’s safe, honey.”
That was all Ruben needed to hear. He scrambled across the porch

and settled down next to Elijah. He had had a bit of medical training
while in Africa, most of it from Mahra. He’d seen more than his fair

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share of gunshot wounds. As he looked at Elijah’s, probing around the
edges with his fingers, he felt his heart start beating again.

“Did someone call an ambulance?” he called out without looking

away from Elijah.

“Your ma did,” Da answered.
“I need towels and a blanket to cover Elijah. He shouldn’t be

moved until the paramedics get here.” Ruben pressed his hand down
over the wound to stop the bleeding. It wasn’t much, but a drop was
more than Ruben could handle. Elijah shouldn’t be bleeding at all.

This was his fault, and Ruben knew it. He had brought this down

on his family. He should have stayed in Africa. It was safer for his
family. Maybe it would be better if he just left and went back, or to
one of the other hundreds of places he had visited during his time
away from the ranch. He had met and made friends with a lot of
people all over the world. They would help hide him and Alani.

“Now, son,” Da said as he moved over to kneel on the other side

of Elijah, “I can see where your head is going, and you just need to
forget about that. We’re your family, and we’re here to help you.”

Ruben shook his head. “Da, I—”
“You didn’t do this, Ruben.”
“But I did, Da. I might not have pulled the trigger, but this is my

fault.” Ruben swallowed hard as he held up one bloody hand in the
porch light. “This is Elijah’s blood. It never would have happened if I
had stayed in Africa.”

“Son—”
“It’s true, and you know it.”
“That’s like saying what Clem did to me was my fault.”
Ruben’s eyes snapped up to see Billy standing in the doorway

wrapped in Rourke’s arms. He stared at the man for a moment and
shook his head. “It’s not the same thing, Billy.”

“It is the same thing!” Billy shouted. “You didn’t do this.

Someone else did this. You have no control over what other people

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do. You know it, and I know it. If you did, Janice never would have
shown her face around here.”

Ruben blinked. Billy wasn’t one to speak out a whole lot. He

either kept things to himself or spoke through Rourke, his husband.
The only people he really felt comfortable around were the members
of the Blaecleah clan. With Yancy standing there, a total stranger,
Ruben was surprised that Billy had spoken at all.

Still…Ruben shook his head. He knew Billy was trying to help,

but he was wrong. Janice was off her rocker, and she never would
have shown up at the ranch if he hadn’t been there, or created his
darling daughter, or—

“Aaawww!” Ruben rubbed his thigh where Elijah had pinched

him. He—“Elijah.” Ruben’s head swung down to look at his love.
Elijah’s deep-blue eyes were staring up at him, and they were not
happy.

“I love you, Ru, but you’re being an idiot.”
“Elijah—”
“Do you honestly think that Africa is any better?” Elijah asked.

“You lost someone you cared about in Africa because people were
shooting at you. What if it had been Alani? At least here she has
family all around her that cares about her.”

Ruben’s shoulders slumped. He knew when he was beat. He was

still going to do everything within his power to put Janice behind bars
and keep his family safe, but he wouldn’t leave.

Elijah started chuckling as he patted Ruben’s arm. When it turned

into a groan filled with pain, Ruben forgot all about his argument and
leaned over the man, pressing on his chest again. “I swear, Elijah
Adrian James, if you ever get shot again, I won’t speak to you for a
week.”

“Now, there’s a threat.” Rourke snickered.
“Rourke!” Billy exclaimed.
“I’m just saying, baby.”
“It’s not nice. Elijah is family now.”

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“Yeah.” Rourke grinned. “And that means I get to treat him like

family.”

Ruben blinked up at the two men for a moment. They felt like

Elijah was family now? He glanced around at the rest of the faces of
his family. Some were worried, others amused, but every last one of
them was surrounding him and Elijah—with the exception of Ma,
Lachlan, and Asa. Ruben assumed they were inside watching over his
daughter.

Ruben started to smile as he looked back down at Elijah. He was

worried about how pale Elijah’s face looked. He had suffered a lot of
blood loss, and he had to be in unimaginable pain.

“The bullet was a through and through, Eli,” he said. “And it

doesn’t look like it hit any major veins or bones. The doctor should be
able to stitch you right up. I’ll bet you’ll be home by tomorrow.”

Ruben didn’t believe a word of what he was saying, and the small

smirk on Elijah’s face said he knew it. True, no major veins or bones
had been hit, and the bullet had gone right through Elijah’s shoulder.
But he wouldn’t be home tomorrow. The doctor was sure to keep him
for a few days at least.

“I’m going to be fine, Ru,” Elijah whispered.
Ruben swallowed past the tears clogging his throat and nodded. “I

know.”

“The ambulance is here, Ruben.”
Ruben glanced up at Da then down the driveway. He could see the

red-and-blue flashing lights as three vehicles drove up the driveway—
one ambulance and two police vehicles. Ruben sighed deeply. He
knew there would be questions. He doubted he would be allowed to
go to the hospital with Elijah.

“Elijah, I—”
“Right breast pocket, Ru.”
Ruben blinked. “Da, there’s something in Elijah’s right breast

pocket. Can you get it out? I don’t want to let go of the pressure on
his chest.”

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Da reached into Elijah’s suit pocket and pulled out a piece of

paper a moment later. He opened it up and started reading. Ruben
frowned when Da whistled low in his throat. “What is it?”

Da glanced down at Elijah. “Do you want to tell him or should I?”
Elijah winced. “You.”
“What is it?” Ruben snapped. He was going out of his mind

wondering.

“It’s a copy of a paper that Elijah filed with the court system this

morning. It’s a living will and power of attorney giving you complete
control over any and all medical decisions concerning Elijah Adrian
James. It also states that in the event of his incapacity, you have any
and all legal rights to him and everything he owns.”

Ruben’s eyebrows shot up as he listened to Da. He glanced down

at Elijah in shock. “Are you serious?”

“Hell, yeah.” Elijah started to chuckle then grabbed his chest,

groaning loudly. “Damn, I have got to stop doing that.”

“Elijah, why would you do that?”
Elijah’s blood-splattered hand covered Ruben’s where they were

pressed over his chest. “Love you.”

Before Ruben could reply, the paramedics arrived and he was

pushed out of the way. He stayed close, bouncing from foot to foot as
Elijah was worked on. When they loaded him up on a gurney and
started wheeling him toward the ambulance, Ruben hurried after
them.

He waited until Elijah was loaded and the ambulance was about to

pull out before stepping forward. “Can you give me just a minute?” he
asked of the paramedic. “I need to speak to him before he goes to the
hospital.”

The woman stared at him for a moment then nodded. “But just a

minute. We need to get Mr. James to the hospital.”

Ruben nodded and climbed into the back of the ambulance. He

scooted forward until he could grab Elijah’s hand and stare down into

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his eyes. He smiled weakly and smoothed back a curl of black hair
from Elijah’s face.

“Hey, you.”
“Hey.” Elijah’s response was muffled by the oxygen mask over

his face, but Ruben could hear him.

“I love you,” Ruben whispered.
“Love you.”
“And I’m going to marry you when you come home.”
Even with the oxygen mask on his face, there was no way for

Ruben to miss the smile that covered Elijah’s face.

“Okay.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Blaecleah, but we really need to get Mr. James to

the hospital.”

Ruben nodded at the woman then leaned down and kissed the top

of Elijah’s hand before setting it down on his chest. “I love you, and I
will be to the hospital as soon as I’m done with the sheriff.”

“Alani.”
Ruben grinned. “Don’t worry. I’ll bring our daughter.”
That answer seemed to satisfy Elijah. He exhaled softly, and then

his eyes fluttered closed. Ruben glanced up to the paramedic in
concern. She just smiled at him.

“He’s going to be fine.”
Ruben reluctantly climbed out of the ambulance and shut the

doors. He wrapped his arms around his stomach as the ambulance
pulled out and drove down the driveway. He felt like his heart was
leaving with the red-and-blue flashing lights. He should have been
allowed to go with Elijah, and he wanted to. Desperately.

But finding out who shot Elijah was a better use of his time, and

he knew it. He didn’t want to bring Elijah home to someplace that
wasn’t safe. The quicker the shooter could be found, the better.

Ruben felt an arm wrap around his shoulders and looked over to

see his da standing next to him. He leaned into him for a moment,

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giving in to the tears that had been threatening to fall since he heard
the gunshot.

“He’ll be just fine, son.”
“I know, Da.”
“Come on. We need to go talk to the sheriff.”
Ruben wiped his tears away and then nodded his head. He drew in

a fortifying breath then turned to look at the people standing on the
porch staring out at him.

It was going to be a damn long night.

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Chapter 11

Ruben paced back and forth in the living room, gently patting

Alani’s back as he walked. He was going out of his mind. After three
days in the hospital, Elijah was supposed to be released today.
Lachlan and Asa had gone into town to pick him up and bring him
back to the ranch.

He hadn’t been allowed to go to the hospital after Elijah like he

had wanted to. It had been decided, and not by him, that the safest
place he could be was out at the ranch. There had been phone calls
between him and Elijah, but that was it. Ruben wouldn’t be happy
until he set eyes on Elijah and knew he was safe for real.

When he heard a vehicle pull up in front of the house, it was all

Ruben could do to stop himself from running over and parting the
dark fabric that had been placed over the windows to keep others
from looking in. He just had to sit and wait. He felt like a prisoner in
his own home, and he was dragging everyone else into his own
personal hell with him.

“Here, you’d better let me take her.”
Ruben turned to see Ma standing beside him, her arms held out for

the baby. He felt his face flush because he knew Ma knew exactly
what he was thinking. The second Elijah was through the door, Ruben
would be all over him.

“She’s a little fussy today, Ma,” Ruben said as he handed Alani

over. “I think she’s teething.”

“Right.” Ma smirked. “And it has nothing to do with her feeling

your stress or missing her other da.”

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Ruben blinked. Her other da? Ruben felt like a train had just

slammed into him at Ma’s words. He had never thought of it that way.
As soon as they got married, Elijah would be Alani’s other da. Ruben
started to grin, suddenly feeling better.

Ma just shook her head as she smiled down at Alani. “I’ll just get

her a bottle then lay her down for a nap in my room. Take all of the
time you need.”

“Elijah is going to want to see her.” Ruben knew he would.
“And he can,” Ma replied. “Just get him settled first then come get

her. I imagine Alani wants to see Elijah just as much.”

Ruben frowned, wondering. “Do you think that’s possible, Ma?”
“What, son?”
“For Alani to be attached to Elijah so soon?”
“Of course it is. Elijah loves her just as much as you do. Babies

know these things. They can feel it when people hold them, feel their
intentions. Elijah’s only intentions are to love Alani and keep her safe,
and she knows that.”

Ruben prayed that Ma was right. It was a little scary blending two

families together.

The sounds of footsteps at the door made the breath in Ruben’s

throat stutter out. He swung around, his heart pounding in his chest,
and waited for the door to open. It was probably the longest wait in
his entire life. The pale, strained face that walked through was more
beautiful than anything Ruben had ever seen.

“Eli,” he breathed out and ran across the room to grab Elijah’s

cheeks between his hands. “Oh gods, I missed you so much.”

“Ru.”
Elijah’s arms wrapped around Ruben, his face burrowed into his

hair. Ruben could feel him trembling. They just stood there for
several minutes, Elijah holding on to Ruben like he never wanted to
let him go.

Ruben finally leaned back and looked up into Elijah’s face. “How

are you feeling?”

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“Better now.”
Ruben smiled. He could feel tears prickling his eyes. “Don’t ever

do that to me again. I can’t take it.”

“Not planning on it, babe.”
“The doctor said you were okay?” Ruben was worried about how

pale Elijah was. What if the doctor had released him too soon?
“Should you be out of the hospital?”

“I’m fine, Ruben.”
“Well, you look like shit.”
“Ruben!” Ma admonished from the kitchen.
Ruben rolled his eyes. Damn woman had ears of steel.
Elijah chuckled softly. “I’m fine, Ruben, I promise. The ride out

to the ranch was just a little rough. I swear Lachlan purposely aimed
for every pothole on the road.”

“Did not!” Lachlan exclaimed from the doorway.
It was only then that Ruben realized there were others in the room

besides him and Elijah. He nodded at his brother. “Thank you for
bringing him home in one piece.”

Lachlan simply nodded.
Ruben looked back at Elijah. “Are you sure you’re okay to be out

of the hospital?”

He sighed and leaned into the hand Elijah cupped around the side

of his face.

“I’m sure, babe. I just need a little rest. The doctor said I was

healing just fine.”

Ruben wasn’t so sure of that considering the paleness of Elijah’s

face, but he wasn’t going to argue, not when he had Elijah in his arms
again. He wrapped his arm around Elijah’s waist and started escorting
him toward the stairs.

“Let’s get you settled in bed.”
“Gonna join me?”
Ruben snorted. “I’ll tuck you in.”

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Getting Elijah upstairs was relatively simple. Getting him out of

his clothes was something altogether different. By the time Ruben had
Elijah undressed and tucked into bed, Elijah’s face was white as a
sheet.

“Did the doctor prescribe you any pain pills?”
Elijah nodded and pointed to his pants. Ruben reached down and

grabbed the pants, searching through them until he found two
prescription bottles. “What are they?”

“One is for pain, and the other is an antibiotic in case of

infection.”

Ruben felt the blood drain from his face. “Infection?” he

whispered. “Is that a possibility?”

“It’s always a possibility with a gunshot wound, but no, right now

I do not have an infection or any signs of an infection. In fact, the
doctor is quite happy with how well I am healing. It’s just a
precaution.”

Ruben breathed out a breath of relief. “Okay. I’m going to go get

you some water so you can take these pills. I’ll be right back.”

“No, stay.”
“Elijah—”
“I don’t want any pain pills right now. They make my head fuzzy.

I just want you.”

“You have me.” Ruben could no more deny Elijah than he could

cut off his head. He stretched out on top of the blankets next to Elijah
and laid his hand on the uninjured side of the man’s chest. Elijah’s
hand came up and covered his as he turned his head to look at Ruben.

“Are you still going to marry me?”
“Yeah.” Ruben moved his hand so he could rub his thumb over

the top of Elijah’s hand. “Just as soon as you can stand up in front of
Brody without passing out.”

“Will you wear my ring?”
Ruben’s eyebrows shot up. “You want me to wear a ring?”

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Elijah’s eyes dropped away as if he was embarrassed. “I wouldn’t

be against the idea.”

Ruben thought about wearing Elijah’s ring. He searched his

feelings to see if he had an issue with it. It would basically be
declaring to the world that he belonged to Elijah. Ruben wasn’t
surprised in the least when he found he was delighted by the idea.

“I’d be proud to wear your ring.”
Elijah’s eyes snapped up to meet his. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
Elijah’s face flushed, which was a deep contrast to how pale he

had been a second before. “I want to wear your ring, too.”

“I’d like that.” Who was he kidding? He’d love that. A symbol of

his bond with Elijah where the entire world could see it was a dream
come true. “Are you sure that’s something you want to do, Elijah?
Everyone would know.”

“Gods, I hope so.”
Ruben stared then stared some more. “Excuse me?”
Elijah chuckled lightly. “I got shot, Ruben.”
Ruben frowned, feeling totally confused about what wearing a

ring had to do with getting shot. He couldn’t even figure out why they
were discussing the two things in the same conversation. “I’m well
aware of that, thank you very much. I haven’t thought about anything
else for days.”

“I could have lost you.”
“The shooter wasn’t aiming at me, Elijah.” Ruben shuddered as he

remembered that night. “He was aiming at you.”

“I still could have lost you, and that made me realize a few

things.”

That statement piqued Ruben’s interest. “Like?”
“For one, you and Alani mean more to me than anything in the

world. Getting shot when we were supposed to be safe here at the
ranch, surrounded by family, made me see that I could lose you

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whether I’m out of the closet or not. I won’t make that mistake
again.”

“Elijah—”
Elijah squeezed Ruben’s hand. “No, Ruben. I’ve made my

decision. I’m not going to change my mind. I don’t care who knows
that I love you. I’ll shout it to the entire world, take an ad out in the
newspaper. Hell, I’ll walk down Main Street with a sign around my
neck that says I love dick if it will make you happy. I just don’t care
anymore. I love you, and I want everyone to know it.”

Ruben felt his lips twitch. “A sign, huh?”
Elijah’s face flushed again. “You know what I mean.”
Ruben scooted closer and slid his hand down Elijah’s abdomen to

the edge of the curly hair above his cock. “No, what did you mean?”

“Ruben,” Elijah whined, his eyes sliding closed.
“What, Eli?” Ruben whispered into Elijah’s ear. “What do you

want?”

“You know what I want.”
“Promise not to move?”
“Not a fucking muscle.”
Ruben grinned and whipped the covers off of Elijah, baring his

naked body. It was like a feast laid out before him—sculpted muscles,
smooth skin, and one incredibly delicious-looking cock pointing
straight up into the air as if begging for Ruben’s touch.

“No moving,” Ruben ordered.
“Promise.”
Ruben grinned. He doubted Elijah would be able to keep his word,

but maybe he could help. He climbed over and settled between
Elijah’s legs, stretching out on the bed below him. He placed one
hand on each of Elijah’s thighs then leaned in to lick away the drops
of pre-cum glistening on the head of the man’s gorgeous cock.

Elijah groaned instantly and jerked.
“Elijah,” Ruben warned. “I’ll stop if you move.”
“Won’t move, swear.”

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Ruben watched as Elijah’s hands fisted in the sheets on either side

of his body before leaning in to make another swipe with his tongue.
Tangy, sweet flavor dotted his tongue. Ruben circled the head with
his tongue, stroking, licking, devouring each drop that built up. Elijah
tasted delicious.

Loving on Elijah was easy. Realizing he couldn’t fuck the man

into tomorrow was the hard part. But no matter how hard his cock
became or how much he ached to claim Elijah, Ruben knew he’d have
to wait.

That didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy what he was doing, however,

or make sure Elijah had a good reason for a nap. Screw the pain pills.
Ruben had his own special brand of medication.

Ruben tortured Elijah, simply licking around the head of his cock

then moving down to lick at his balls. He avoided swallowing the man
down until he felt Elijah’s hands fist in his hair. That was his clue that
Elijah was at the end of his endurance.

Even though Elijah was going against orders and moving, Ruben

allowed the man to direct him back up to his cock. Once there, Ruben
swallowed Elijah’s cock down until his nose was buried in the man’s
curly pubic hair.

Elijah started crying out, small sounds at first, then with

increasing volume until the room was filled with his cries of pleasure.
The whole time, Ruben bobbed his head, sucking in his cheeks and
using his tongue to lick at every side of the man’s swollen erection.

Ruben shoved two fingers into his mouth alongside of Elijah’s

cock and got them good and wet. As he sucked Elijah’s cock back
into his mouth, he moved his fingers down between the man’s ass
cheeks and stroked them across his puckered hole.

“Ru!”
Ruben grinned around the cock in his mouth. Elijah was close,

very close. His balls were drawing up near his body, turning hard as
stones. The shaft in his mouth started to swell. Ruben quickly sucked

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Elijah’s cock down until he felt it hit the back of his throat. As he
pulled back, he pushed two fingers into Elijah’s tight opening.

Elijah stiffened and shouted out Ruben’s name. Ruben moved

back until his mouth was just around the head and hammered his
fingers in and out of the man’s ass. Ropes of hot, tangy cum shot into
his mouth, filling it to overflowing.

Ruben swallowed as much as he could and then licked away the

rest. He slowed the thrusting of his fingers as Elijah’s body slumped
back into the mattress. He pulled his fingers free then climbed up onto
his knees between Elijah’s thighs. He reached for his own zipper,
fumbling for several moments in his haste, but finally getting his
pants undone and his cock out.

Ruben wrapped his hand around himself and started pumping

furiously. It wouldn’t take much to make him come. Watching Elijah
in the throes of passion was an aphrodisiac unto itself. He raised his
eyes to meet Elijah’s heavy-lidded ones.

“Watch me, Eli,” Ruben whispered. “Watch what you do to me.”
Elijah’s eyes were like a scorching caress along Ruben’s skin.

Despite having come just moments before, Ruben could still see the
desire in the deep-blue depths. That turned him on more than
anything, knowing that Elijah wanted him so much.

“See how much I want you, Eli?”
Elijah gulped, and nodded.
“Gonna pound your ass into the mattress the minute you’re

better.” Ruben started panting as his orgasm drew nearer. He
tightened his fingers, grunting at the slight bite of pain that action
caused. He felt so sensitive with Elijah watching him jerk off. He was
on the edge of exploding.

Ruben frowned and lost his rhythm when Elijah suddenly moved

his leg until he felt it press between his thighs and up against his balls.
He started moving, resuming his strokes on his cock while rubbing off
against Elijah’s thighs.

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“Oh fuck!” Ruben shouted when his orgasm tore through him. His

head dropped back on his shoulders as his strokes slowed. He
continued to move his hips, rubbing against Elijah’s thigh until he had
milked every last drop of cum out of his balls, then slumped down
over Elijah, his face in the man’s stomach. “Damn, that was hot, Eli.”

Ruben grew concerned when he received no reply from Elijah. He

glanced up then started to chuckle. Elijah was out cold, small little
snores coming from him. Ruben shook his head and climbed off the
bed. He went to the bathroom and cleaned up then grabbed a
washcloth and went back into the bedroom to wipe the cum off of his
lover.

He tossed the used washcloth into the hamper and fixed his

clothes. After drawing the covers up over Elijah’s naked body, Ruben
leaned in and planted a small kiss on Elijah’s lips. Elijah smiled in his
sleep and whispered Ruben’s name.

It was enough to make tears come to Ruben’s eyes. He stared

down at Elijah for several minutes, wondering how he had ever gone
so long without the man in his life, then walked out of the bedroom.

He wanted to talk to Lachlan and find out if there had been any

news on whoever had shot Elijah, and then he wanted to make plans
to keep his family safe.

Ruben smiled when he reached the bottom of the stairs and saw

Yancy talking to Seamus. His brother seemed to be hanging on
Yancy’s every word. From the way Yancy was leaning toward
Seamus, Ruben was pretty sure that the attraction was returned.

Sheriff Riley, however, was shooting daggers at the two men from

across the room. That was an interesting turn of events. Sheriff Riley
looked like he wanted to take Yancy out back and pound him into the
ground. Maybe bringing Yancy home wasn’t such a good idea after
all.

“How’s Elijah?” Lachlan asked as he walked over to stand next to

Ruben.

Ruben smiled. “Sleeping.”

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123

Lachlan chuckled. “So we heard.”
Ruben couldn’t even get embarrassed about what he had done. He

was too sated.

“Ma heard, too, and I’ll bet anything you’re going to get your

mouth washed out with soap for swearing.”

Ruben frowned in confusion until he remembered shouting when

he had come. His grin grew bigger. “It was worth it.”

“No doubt.” Lachlan wiggled his eyebrows. “But now you know

why Asa and I have our own place.”

“I’ve already got the architect working on the plans for the new

house.”

“Is Elijah going to move out here then?”
Ruben’s mouth dropped open. He pushed his hand through his

hair. “I don’t know. We never discussed it. I mean, I assumed he
would, but I guess I shouldn’t, right? He has a right to have a say in
this decision, right?”

Oh man.
“Calm down, bro,” Matty said as he walked over and patted him

on the shoulder. “I’m sure Elijah will understand the need to be out
here on the ranch. This is a much better place to raise Alani than in
town.” Matty pointed over to where Ma was sitting, gently rocking
Alani in her arms. “Besides, out here you have a built-in babysitter.”

“We’ll still have to talk about it.”
“Of course you do. That’s what couples do. They compromise.”
Ruben glared at Matty. “When did you become such an expert on

couples?”

“Hello”—Matty’s hands landed on his hips—“have you met my

husband? I have a PhD in compromise.”

Ruben started to chuckle when a sudden loud boom filled the air

and the front window shattered, glass blowing everywhere. Ruben’s
eyes instantly went to Ma and Alani, just in time to see Asa sweep
them both down to the floor.

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Ruben grabbed Matty and hit the floor. He could see the rest of

his family crouching down as well. “What the hell was that?” Ruben
shouted. “Is someone shooting at us again?”

Sheriff Riley scooted over to look out the broken front window

then shook his head. “Someone blew up my car.”

Ruben’s eyebrows shot up. “Someone blew up your car?”
The sheriff nodded.
“Why?”
“Why don’t we go find out?” Sheriff Riley pulled the gun on his

hip out of its holster and started crawling toward the back door. “Da,
can you get to your shotgun?”

“Yep.” Da started moving toward the hallway closet.
“Yancy, are you armed?” the sheriff asked as he stopped next to

the man.

Yancy nodded and pulled his own gun out, checking the magazine

then slapping it back in place. “I’m good to go.” Yancy started
moving toward the back of the house.

“Get Ma and the baby somewhere safe, somewhere that has no

windows that can be shot out.”

Ruben nodded.
“The rest of you stay out of sight and watch for any movement.”

Sheriff Riley handed over a small earpiece to Lachlan. “Stay on this
frequency. If you see anything, let me know. Otherwise, keep the line
clear. And someone call for backup.”

Sheriff Riley started to crawl away then stopped. He grabbed

Seamus by his collar and pulled him in for the fiercest, most
passionate and desperate kiss Ruben had ever seen. Seamus’s eyes
were huge by the time the sheriff let him go.

Sheriff Riley rubbed his thumb across Seamus’s kiss-swollen lips

then looked into his green eyes. “We’ll be talking when I get back.”

Seamus nodded.

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125

Without another word, the sheriff moved away. A moment later,

Ruben heard the back door clank softly as it closed. Ruben just sat
there and stared at Seamus.

There was a lot more going on there than he knew about. The

sheriff had practically peeled the paint off the walls with that kiss.
And Seamus just seemed dazed. Of course, he had a huge smile on his
face, so it couldn’t all be bad.

“Okay, let’s get going,” Ruben said as he pushed Matty toward

the stairs. “Those of you that can move, move!”

Once Matty had started up the stairs, Ruben crawled over to

where Asa was covering Ma and Alani. Surprisingly, Alani was still
asleep. Ruben wasn’t too thrilled knowing Alani could sleep through
explosions and gunshots because of experience with them but jumped
at loud voices. He’d rather she was screaming her head off because of
the unexpected noise.

“Hey, Ma, how are you doing?”
“Someone shot out my windows, son.” Ma’s nostrils flared as she

sat up. “If I ever find out who it was, he is going to wish he had never
messed with this family. My ma gave me those lace curtains before I
left Ireland. They can’t be replaced.”

Ruben took Alani out of Ma’s arms and tucked her into his chest.

“I’m sorry about that, Ma. I wish there was something I could do.”

“There is, son.” Ma pointed toward the stairs. “Get that baby

somewhere safe. She’s much more important than my curtains.”

When Asa nodded to him, letting Ruben know he would take care

of Ma, Ruben crawled away until he reached the stairs. Then he
jumped to his feet and raced up the stairs. The upstairs hallway was
the only place in the house that didn’t have any windows. It seemed
like the safe place to be at the moment.

Ruben handed Alani off to Matty then crept into his bedroom. He

couldn’t leave Elijah in there alone. Ruben wasn’t surprised when he
found Elijah was sitting up in bed, looking around in confusion.

“What happened?”

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“You need to get dressed, baby,” Ruben said as he scooped the

man’s clothes up off the floor. “And hurry. Someone blew up the
sheriff’s car.”

“What?” Elijah shouted as he scrambled off the bed as fast as he

could and started getting dressed. “Is anyone hurt?”

“Doesn’t seem like it. The sheriff and Yancy snuck out the back

door to see if they can find anyone. Everyone else is inside the house.
The sheriff wants us to hole up here in the house, someplace where
we can’t be shot at.”

Elijah’s eyebrows shot up. “They’re shooting at us?”

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Chapter 12

Elijah wanted to scream in aggravation. When would it ever stop?

Ruben’s biological mother was no longer just trying to get custody of
Alani, which Elijah could have fought in court. She was trying to kill
them all. She was nuts.

“What’s the plan?”
Ruben’s eyebrow arched as he turned to look at him. Under any

other circumstance, he would have found it endearing. Right now, it
just made him want to growl in frustration. He knew what Ruben was
going to say before he opened his mouth.

“I am not an invalid, Ruben.”
“Close enough.”
Elijah’s eyes narrowed. “Do you really think I am just going to sit

here and twiddle my thumbs while someone tries to take my family
from me?”

“No, you’re going to hide right along with me and the rest of this

family.”

Oh. Well, that was different. Elijah didn’t like the idea of hiding

from anyone. He hated bullies with a passion, especially after what
had happened to Thomas. But protecting his family was more
important, and if hiding them from whoever was trying to kill them
was what was needed, that’s what he would do.

“I wish I had a gun.”
Ruben’s head tilted. “You know how to shoot a gun?”
“I was in the service at one time, Ruben. And I wasn’t a grunt.”
“Really.” Ruben walked over to his closet, confusing the crap out

of Elijah. He thought they were supposed to be hiding. Ruben rifled

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Stormy Glenn

around inside the closet for a moment then came out with a black box
in his hand. He held it out to Elijah. “Mahra gave these to me. I was
saving them for Alani’s twenty-first birthday, in case she wanted
them.”

Elijah cocked an eyebrow, curiosity eating away at him as he

opened the box. He gaped, his jaw dropping. “Do you know what
these are?” he asked as he carefully pulled one of the two matching
guns out of the box and checked to see if it was loaded. It wasn’t, but
there were four empty magazines in the box along with a box of
ammo.

“Yep, they’re Desert Eagle .44 Magnums.”
“Shit.”
Ruben chuckled and grabbed one of the magazines. He opened the

box of ammo and started loading it. Elijah blinked in astonishment as
he watched. Ruben was loading the magazine like he did it every day
of his life.

“Is there something you need to tell me, baby?” Elijah asked as he

started loading his own magazine.

“We got shot at, a lot. We’re really not supposed to have guns

when we’re doing relief work, but once Alani got here, Mahra wanted
to make sure we were protected.” Ruben shrugged. “It didn’t seem to
do Mahra much good. We left the damn things back at camp the day
she got shot.”

“I’m sorry that Mahra died, but you never would have been able

to live with yourself if you killed someone, Ruben.” Elijah knew it
deep down in his bones. He, on the other hand, had no problem
shooting anyone that tried to hurt his family.

Once the magazines were loaded, Elijah loaded the guns. He

handed one to Ruben, just in case, and took the other one for himself.
“Don’t use this unless you absolutely have to. And when this is over,
we need to talk about a gun safe for the new house. I don’t want Alani
getting hurt.”

Ruben smiled. “Yes, dear.”

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129

“Come on,” Elijah said as he started for the door to the hallway, “I

want to see my daughter.” Elijah stepped out into the hallway then
froze. Something wasn’t right. “Where is everyone?”

“Hiding?”
“Hiding where?”
Elijah heard a muffled noise at the end of the hallway. He hurried

down to the door leading to the linen closet and eased it open. Matty
sat inside on the floor, Alani cradled in his arms. His eyes were wild,
filled with fear. Elijah swore under his breath and reached down to
help him up, but Matty shook his head rapidly and pointed.

“I want my grandbaby.”
Elijah swallowed hard and turned to see Janice standing at the top

of the stairs, a gun in her hand. It was pointed right at Ruben, who
stood between Elijah and Janice.

Well, damn!
Elijah held his gun in one hand and placed the other one on

Ruben’s waist. He quickly scanned the hallway for an escape, but
there wasn’t one. The linen closet was at the end of the hallway. It
was a straight shot from Janice to them. If he moved, she would see
Matty and Alani huddled on the floor.

“Give her to me.”
Ruben started to shake his head until Elijah squeezed him.

Arguing with a madwoman with a gun was not a good idea. They
needed to figure a way out of this. Elijah used his foot to push at
Matty, trying to get him to move to one side of the linen closet. He
needed Matty and Alani out of the line of fire.

When he felt Matty pat his leg, he started pushing on Ruben’s

back, slowly urging him forward. They needed to make it to another
doorway, someplace that he could push Ruben into and get him out of
the line of fire.

“Look, if it’s the money,” Ruben said, “you can have it. I’ll sign

anything you want.”

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Stormy Glenn

“Do you really expect me to believe that?” Janice sneered. “Your

father warned me about you, about the things you would do to try and
trick me. I won’t fall for it.”

“I swear, I don’t want the money.”
Elijah’s heart ached when he heard the pleading in Ruben’s voice.

It had to be horrible to be facing his mother at the end of a gun.

“I don’t believe you!” Janice screamed. “Give me the baby!”
Elijah’s heart slammed into his throat when Janice jerked the gun

higher.

“Her name is Alani.”
“I don’t fucking care what her name is,” Janice shouted. “Give her

to me.”

Ruben’s head suddenly tilted to one side. Elijah almost groaned.

“You really don’t care, do you? She’s just a way for you to get
father’s money. You could care less what her name is or what she
looks like.”

“That’s my fucking money!” Janice snapped. “I worked for it for

over thirty years. I put up with you and your brother and your father. I
put up with that stupid church and all of those devoted followers
fawning all over your father. The late, great Reverend McCallister.”
Janice suddenly laughed hysterically. “If only they knew the truth. He
was a bastard, and I hated the ground he walked on. I’d spit on his
grave if I thought I could get away with it.”

Elijah blinked in surprise. Well, that was interesting.
“I thought you loved him,” Ruben said. “You did everything he

said.”

“Only because I had to. I hated him, and he knew it. He held that

money over my head every day of my life.” Janice slapped her hand
against her chest. “That was my money. It was my money before we
were married, but he convinced me to sign it over on our wedding
night, and then I learned what a bastard he really was, but by then it
was too late.”

“Then why did you stay?”

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131

“Because I wanted my money.”
“So you put us through hell because of money?”
Elijah closed his eyes for a brief moment. Ruben sounded so

heartbroken. And he could hear Matty quietly sniffling behind him.
This needed to end before Janice destroyed her two sons, and maybe
the rest of the Blaecleah family as well.

“I’m a lawyer,” Elijah said as he started to edge his way out from

behind Ruben, keeping his gun hidden behind him. “I can draw up
whatever papers you want giving you complete control over Reverend
McCallister’s trust fund. You don’t need Alani to have the money.”

“You think it’s that easy?” Janice started waving her hand in the

air. Elijah prayed the gun in her hand didn’t accidently go off during
her rant. “Arthur put provisions in the will that only those raising
Alani could have access to her trust fund. You can’t sign a damn thing
over to me, so shut the hell up.”

“You know, for someone that has lived as the wife of a reverend

for the last thirty years, you have quite the dirty mouth.”

Elijah’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head when he recognized

Ma’s voice and saw her come up behind Janice, waving a frying pan
in her hand. He just knew Janice was going to shoot Ma, and he
couldn’t allow that.

“Ma!” Ruben shouted. “No!”
Elijah pushed Ruben out of the way and tore down the hallway.

He reached Janice just as she raised the gun to shoot Ma. Without
even thinking about it, Elijah raised the gun in his hand, pointed it at
Janice, and pulled the trigger.

Janice screamed and went down, but not before Ma beaned her

over the head with her cast-iron frying pan. She didn’t move after
that.

Ma kicked the unmoving woman in the side. “I don’t allow

swearing in my house.”

Elijah leaned over and drew in several deep breaths as fear and

relief swept through his entire body. He felt a hand smooth down his

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back and glanced up to see Ruben standing next to him. Elijah
scanned him from head to toe. He seemed unharmed, physically at
least. Emotionally, he had to be a wreck.

Elijah squatted down next to Janice and searched for a pulse. He

wasn’t sure if he was relieved or not when he found one. Apparently,
he had just nicked her, but she was sure to have a whammy of a
headache when she woke up.

“Ma, could you call an ambulance?”
“If I must.”
Elijah chuckled as he watched Ma walk back down the stairs, her

frying pan in hand. He glanced up at Ruben. “Baby, I need something
to tie her up and both of the pillow cases off the bed.”

Ruben’s lips were white from being pressed together, but he

nodded and ran into the bedroom. He was back a moment later with
the pillowcases and a robe tie. It wasn’t rope, but it would do.

Elijah ejected the magazine from his gun, checked to make sure

no bullets were in the chamber, and then put the safety on. He
grabbed the pillowcase and dropped his gun into it. The police would
want it, and it didn’t need anyone’s fingerprints but his. He laid the
gun on the floor then did the same to Janice’s gun.

He carefully rolled Janice over onto her stomach and tied her

hands behind her back. For good measure and because he didn’t trust
the woman, he also tied her feet together with his belt then rolled her
back over.

Elijah pushed himself to his feet then reached for Ruben. The man

came willingly into his arms, pressing his face against Elijah’s chest.
Elijah buried his face in Ruben’s hair, holding him as close as he
possibly could.

“It’s all over now, baby. She can never hurt you again.”
“She was going to kill us all,” Ruben whispered with a quaky

voice.

“I know, but we stopped her. She’ll go to prison for this, Ruben.”
Ruben shuddered. “I just want her to go away.”

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133

“Okay, listen to me.” Elijah grabbed Ruben’s shoulders and

pushed him away a few inches. “I want you to go get Alani and Matty
and go to our room. Stay away from the windows until I give you the
all clear. I’m going to take Janice downstairs and tie her to a chair or
something. If she moves, I’ll sic Ma on her.”

Ruben chuckled, which was what Elijah was hoping for. The man

was way too pale for his liking. He leaned in and placed a small kiss
on Ruben’s lips then pushed him back down the hallway.

“Go on, Ru, go take care of our daughter.”
Elijah watched until Ruben, Matty, and Alani were in the

bedroom then reached down to lift Janice into his arms. He grabbed
the two pillowcases with his hand then carried everything downstairs.

He just reached the bottom step when the front door flew open

and Quaid came running inside. He looked worried out of his mind as
his eyes scanned the room before coming to settle on Elijah. “Matty?”

“He’s upstairs in Ruben’s bedroom. He’s fine.”
Quaid tossed him a grateful nod then raced up the stairs. Elijah

heard the bedroom door crash open a moment later and Matty’s happy
cry.

He carried Janice into the living room and dropped her on the

couch. He set the guns down on the side table on the other side of the
room. He didn’t want Janice anywhere near the guns, just in case.

Elijah grabbed some towels from the kitchen and wrapped them

around the flesh wound in Janice’s shoulder. He might want her dead,
but he suspected there was a part of both Ruben and Matty that didn’t,
even if they did want her behind bars. She still gave birth to them.

“Is she still breathing?”
“Yes, Ma.”
“Damn.”
Shocked at Ma’s words, Elijah turned to see the woman standing

in the archway leading to the dining room. Her arms were crossed
over her chest, but she still had her frying pan in her hand. There was
a deep scowl on her face as she glared at Janice.

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135

Chapter 13

Elijah was nervous. He could feel his palms sweating and quickly

rubbed them down the legs of his black slacks. He always had a bit of
anxiousness when he went into a courtroom and had to stand before a
room full of people, but this was different.

It was much more nerve-racking.
Ruben and most of the Blaecleah clan sat in the pews at the front

of the church, just on the other side of the door Elijah was standing
behind. If he looked through the small diamond-shaped window in the
door, he knew he would be able to see Ruben sitting with Alani on his
lap, surrounded by every member of his family minus Matty.

Elijah drew in a deep breath. They were his family now. All of the

legal papers had been filed with the courts. For all intents and
purposes, Ruben and Elijah were legal partners in life. The paperwork
had even been filed for Elijah to adopt Alani. They were just waiting
the sixth-month probation period before the judge signed the papers
and made it totally legal.

Elijah had no doubt that the judge would sign them either. The

home visit by child services had gone off without a hitch. The woman
had loved what they did with Alani’s room, incorporating stuff from
Mahra’s Egyptian heritage.

With the help of Mark’s carpenter skills, Alani now lived in a

bedroom fit for an Egyptian princess, complete with pillars,
hieroglyphs, and a large mural of Mahra on her wall. Ruben and
Elijah never wanted Alani to forget the woman that had given birth to
her. Her heritage was important and needed to be passed on to her
daughter.

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Elijah was just glad that Janice’s heritage wouldn’t be passed

down to Alani. The woman was a menace to society. After all of the
evidence had been gathered against her, including her pool boy who
spilled his guts about shooting Elijah at her insistence, Janice would
be serving a life sentence for four counts of attempted murder, one of
those against a police officer. She wouldn’t see the light of day until
she was old and gray and couldn’t hurt anyone else.

Ruben still didn’t want anything to do with her or his father’s

money. The money that had been left to Alani had been placed in a
trust and couldn’t be accessed by anyone until Alani was twenty-five
years old, and then only by Alani—if she still wanted it.

Elijah suspected after being raised in the Blaecleah clan, money

wouldn’t mean that much to Alani when she was older. There were
more important things in life, like family and falling in love.

And convincing the man you love to spend the rest of his life with

you. Elijah drew in another deep breath and opened the door to the
main room of the church. A few people turned and glanced back at
him but no more than that. Elijah knew there would be more and
could feel them as he walked down the aisle between the pews, not
stopping at where Ruben sat, but passing him right up and walking to
the front of the church.

Benjamin Brody nodded to him and stepped off to the side to

stand next to his husband, Neason. Elijah smiled nervously and
looked out over the congregation until his eyes landed on the man of
the hour. Ruben was giving him a peculiar frown, but the rest of the
Blaecleahs all had knowing smiles on their faces. They had a right to
their smiles. It took a lot of people to plan what Elijah had in mind.

“Hello,” Elijah said nervously.
He received a chorus of hellos and a few chuckles back.
“It’s Christmas Eve tonight. It’s a special time when people

should be surrounded by friends and loved ones. As I look out over all
of you here tonight, I can honestly say I am surrounded by friends and
loved ones.”

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137

Elijah clasped his hands behind his back and rubbed his palms

together. If he got through this without passing out, he would be shit,
shocked, and amazed. He glanced over at Ruben again and swallowed
hard.

“Ruben Blaecleah, I told you that I loved you.” Elijah smiled

when Ruben’s jaw dropped. “I asked you to marry me. You said yes.
Did you mean it?”

Ruben nodded.
“I can’t hear you.”
“Ye–yes,” Ruben squeaked, his face flushing deep red.
Elijah smiled when several people chuckled.
“Do you still mean it, Ruben?” Elijah asked. “Will you marry

me?”

“Yes.”
“Will you marry me right now?”
“Yes, I—” Ruben’s eyes rounded. “Wait, now? Right now?”
Elijah nodded.
The door at the end of the back of the church banged open and

Matty walked in. He strolled right up to Ruben and pinned a yellow
rose

boutonniere on the lapel of his cream-colored silk dress shirt

and then winked at him before walking to the front of the church to
stand to one side of Elijah.

“Well, Ruben?” Elijah held out his hand. “Will you marry me?”
Ruben swallowed several times. When he just sat there staring,

Elijah began to think that he might have played this all wrong. What
if Ruben said no? What if he didn’t want to get married in the church?
Hell, what if he didn’t want to get married at all?

Had Ruben changed his mind?
Elijah’s heart thundered in his chest when Ruben stood up and

handed Alani off to his mother. He thought his knees might give out
when Ruben scooted out of the pew and started walking toward the
front of the church, stopping right in front of him, his eyes downcast.

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Elijah’s breath caught in his throat when Ruben looked up. His

deep hazel eyes glittered with unshed tears, but one by one they
started to slide down his cheeks. His smile was tremendous as he
grabbed Elijah’s hand and held it between his.

“Cowboy up, Elijah.”

THE END

WWW.STORMYGLENN.COM

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Stormy believes the only thing sexier than a man in cowboy boots

is two or three men in cowboy boots. She also believes in love at first
sight, soul Mates, true love, and happy endings.

You can usually find her cuddled in bed with a book in her hand

and a puppy in her lap or on her laptop, creating the next sexy man for
one of her stories. Stormy welcomes comments from readers. You can
find her website at

www.stormyglenn.com

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For all other titles, please visit