His To Claim. Brenda Jackson

both situations. The surgery to have her tubes tied had been rescheduled and she was having apprehensions about that, and although a part of her wanted to believe that buying the ranch had been for the best, she wasn’t sure how Mac would feel about it.

      Being here at this ranch had helped soothe her mind and she didn’t regret coming here, although she did miss the girls. There were so many activities to enjoy, and yesterday she’d even helped with the branding of the cattle and participated in a roundup. After today, she would only have four days left here and then she would return to Virginia, to her daughters and to wait for Mac to come home.

      Mac.

      Lately things hadn’t been so great between them.

      They seemed to argue more when he returned after being away. She didn’t think it was related to PTSD; it was just a case of two strong-willed individuals not always agreeing on certain things. It was so hard for him to understand that while he was away, she was both mom and dad, and when he returned it wasn’t easy for her to relinquish one of them. Usually by the time she did, he was gone again. Why was it becoming a vicious cycle that seemed to threaten their marriage to the point where she’d begun feeling that she was taken for granted?

      There it was again.

      Questions with no answers. Problems that needed solving.

      She wanted, for the time being, to clear her mind of all of it and to recall a time when she didn’t have any worries. Or at least not too many—for even back then she had been trying to decide how she would run a ranch without her grandparents. But all those years ago she had been a young girl who’d met a man she knew was meant to be a part of her life and she a part of his.

      As she stood there sipping her coffee, her mind drifted back to that time...

      Ten years ago

      Less than an hour after her friend LaDorria had introduced them, Teri had known Thurston McRoy was a take-charge kind of man who was military through and through.

      In addition to being breathtakingly handsome, he was also incredibly charming and outrageously kind. She’d discovered just how kind when they’d left the rodeo and they’d gone, along with LaDorria and Lawton, to this bar-and-grill for food and beer. He’d opened doors for her, pulled out chairs and hadn’t tried taking control of their conversations.

      He hadn’t come on too strong, yet he’d managed to overwhelm her just the same. She had discovered he was someone easy to talk to, someone who had the ability to make her feel comfortable around him. It seemed LaDorria and Lawton had intentionally left them alone by staying on the dance floor. But she hadn’t minded. It was during that time that she’d gotten to size him up. To see how he treated people, from the waiter who took their order to the busboy who’d come to clear off their table. He’d treated everyone with respect and gone out of his way to make their servers feel appreciated.

      Although she had enjoyed that night with Mac, she hadn’t been certain he would want to see her again. He’d asked for her phone number at the end of the night, but that didn’t particularly mean anything. She’d long discovered that some men didn’t care about dating a girl who not only loved horses but who was an ace on the back of one. Then there was her skill with a rope and her expertise with barrel racing. They preferred women who were all class and sophistication. Ones who wore expensive gowns rather than jeans and a Western shirt.

      It didn’t take long for her to see Mac wasn’t that type of man. He had followed up their date with a number of phone calls. Her ability to rope a calf didn’t bother him and he’d even said he liked how she looked in a pair of jeans. He’d told her that although he wasn’t an expert on a horse like she was, he could ride and enjoyed riding because his grandparents owned a horse ranch.

      Then there was the night he’d surprised her and shown up at one of her rodeos in Montana. She had won her competition that night and had felt good about it. After the rodeo she had seen him waiting on her, dressed as a cowboy with a Stetson on his head. She had found herself even more attracted to him and had offered no resistance when he’d taken her hand to lead her over to the SUV he’d rented.

      “Where are we going?” she asked him when he opened the vehicle’s door.

      “I’m taking you somewhere to celebrate your win. You looked fantastic out there and you did an awesome job.”

      His words had made her feel good. Pretty darn special and she felt even more special in his company.

      They’d had a lively discussion on their way to the restaurant for dinner. He’d told her more about both his grandfathers and how their time in the military had made him desire a military life of his own. She knew when his maternal grandfather had retired he and Mac’s grandmother had purchased a ranch in Florida.

      “I’ve never been to Florida.”

      He glanced over at her strangely when he brought the car to a stop in the restaurant’s parking lot. “You haven’t?”

      “No. I heard the beaches there are beautiful.”

      He nodded. “They are, but then, Texas has beautiful beaches. I remember spending the weekend in Galveston one year.”

      She’d been tempted to inquire who he’d spent the weekend with but hadn’t. Instead she said, “I bet you had a lot of fun.”

      “I did,” he said, grinning over at her.

      During the walk to the restaurant’s door he told her more about himself and the more she got to know about him, the more she liked him. That night had pretty much established how things would be between them. She had accepted that he’d opted for a career as a navy SEAL and she knew any woman in his life would have to live with that choice. Since she’d been seriously considering selling her ranch, the idea of having a life with him, which would include traveling around the world, intrigued her.

      When he invited her to Barcelona, she’d said yes right away, and those two weeks had been a game changer. She’d seen just what life with Mac would be like. As he showed her around Spain, she’d fallen in love with him. She had been a virgin and the night they’d made love for the first time was something she would never forget. He had made it special for her.

      They had talked a lot, as well. Mac had told about his parents’ interracial marriage and how dedicated they’d been to making it successful, remaining partners in all things. That was the kind of marriage he wanted for himself. One filled with love and commitment. She’d known that was the kind of marriage she wanted for herself, too, one where divorce would never be an option. The kind she was raised to believe her own parents had found, and the kind she knew her grandparents had shared.

      Those had been the best two weeks of her life and before she left to return to the United States, he’d asked her to marry him.

      Not seeing any reason to have a long engagement, they’d gotten married a month later and she had no regrets.

      * * *

      Teri brought her thoughts back to the present. Lawton and LaDorria had gotten married a year after Mac and Teri and they were still together, living in New Mexico with their two kids. Lawton had gotten out of the military and had gone to work for the FBI. LaDorria had expanded her love of photography and opened her own shop. Teri and Mac heard from them from time to time, and she always looked forward to the Christmas photo card they sent each year. They always looked so happy. So perfect. She didn’t want to think about how things weren’t so photo perfect with her and Mac.

      Placing the coffee cup aside, she moved toward the bedroom. It was time to get dressed for her daily morning ride on Amsterdam.

      * * *

      “I’m sorry, Mr. McRoy, but your name is not on the registration. Until Mrs. McRoy gives her permission for you to be added, we can’t give you a key to her cabin.”

      Mac forced back his anger, trying to understand the man’s position. He knew the rules were due to security measures, which he should appreciate. After all, for all the staff knew, he could very well be an ex-husband