Claimed by a Cowboy by Tanya Michaels

Author:Tanya Michaels
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2011-12-13T23:00:00+00:00

SINCE THE TWO POOL TABLES in the small bar were both in use and Sam had no interest in drinking, he ended up at the dartboard, playing Oh-One with a stranger who’d introduced himself as Ty. Sam wasn’t sure whether Ty was a local, hired help for the festival or a tourist just passing through—the dark-haired man showed as little inclination toward small talk as Sam.

I’ve learned my lesson. Sam threw the first dart of his turn. He’d done too much yapping for the night already and planned to keep his trap shut going forward. Whatever uncharacteristic impulse had motivated him to share another piece of his past with Lorelei…well, that urge was long gone now. He was surprised he’d given in to it in the first place.

Wanda had always tried to coax him into “bonding” with other people. “Or at least smile more,” she’d say. “If you’re not careful, Sam, you’re gonna scare away all my other guests.”

Tonight was the second time he’d let himself get suckered into a false sense of connection with Lorelei, only to have his misreading of the situation turn around to bite him on the ass. He’d seen the pain in her face over dinner as she talked about her father’s death, the guilt and hurt that she’d never been able to join in her parents’ optimism. Even though he thought she’d been blessed to have Wanda as a mom, Sam did know what it was like to feel outside your own family. He’d always fallen a distant second in his parents’ priorities. While Sam hadn’t enjoyed talking about his father, he’d stammered through it. For a heartbeat of time, he’d felt he and Lorelei had found a patch of common ground.

Then the pity in her eyes—already galling—turned to annoyance and she haughtily informed him that her father had loved her. Then she’d become condescending and he’d had to leave before he lost his temper. It was ironic, really. He’d briefly dated a woman or two who’d tried their best to get him to open up, but he’d never been tempted to do so. Until Lorelei, who, wasn’t interested.

Won’t happen again. Hell, he’d give in and date Barbara Biggins—a blue-eyed piranha in a miniskirt—before he made himself vulnerable to Lorelei again. He flung his third dart, and it went wide, bouncing off the rim of the board before falling to the ground. A growling noise sounded low in his throat, and Ty raised his eyebrows but said nothing as he walked to the throw line.

Several more rounds passed as each of them, lost in his own musings, whittled his score down to zero. Despite a few lucky throws along the way, Sam couldn’t find the precision to hit the exact numbers needed. Could be worse. At least they weren’t playing for money. He heard Lorelei’s disapproving tone in his head as she’d informed him, “I don’t gamble.”

Of course she didn’t. She also didn’t relax, didn’t visit her only family when she’d still had the chance, didn’t let herself feel.

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