Page 1 of For the Love of the Bull Rider

Chapter One

Tim Moran stood in the aisle of Southern States Farm Supply looking at a whole lot of buckets when he felt a tug on the hem of his T-shirt. He turned to see no one standing next to him, so he continued weighing the merits of the five-gallon feed bucket versus the shorter, rounder, five-gallon grain bin. His Uncle Josh had sent him to the store with the farm credit card and alist. Unfortunately, Josh wasn’t one to provide many details, so Tim wasn’t sure what the hell he was supposed to choose.

He felt another tug to his T-shirt and a pinch to his thigh, causing him to glance down to see a little boy—six, maybe—dressed in full cowboy gear, right down to the ten-gallon hat. “Whatcha doin’?” the boy asked, his cute face showing confusion.

“I’m looking at buckets for my uncle. What are you doing?” Tim asked, smiling at the adorable little boy.

“Lookin’ for my daddy. Are you lost, too?” the boy asked.

Tim must have had a stupid look on his face even a child could recognize as a clear sign he was out of his element. Though, he doubted the boy was lost in the same way Tim was lost.

He couldn’t hold the chuckle. “Yeah, but for a very different reason, I’m sure. Let’s go to the service desk and have them page your father.”

“Ryan Earl!”The boy turned to the sound of the shouting, so Tim followed his line of sight, seeing a bona fide stud of a cowboy spinning nervously at the end of the aisle, clearly searching for someone.

The man was tall, dark, and handsome with broad shoulders and muscular thighs that were almost busting out of the Wranglers he was wearing. There was an old wheat-colored, straw cowboy hat tipped back on his head, and as Tim continued to scan his body and enjoy the view, it ended with a pair of beat-up cowboy boots. His ensemble was a sure sign the man didn’t play at being a cowboy. He was the real deal.

Of course, Tim’s dick got hard… well, as hard as it was going to get in the jeanshewas wearing. He was adorned in hand-me-downs from his late cousin, Shane, who had been in the Marine Corp.

Tim was eight years younger than Shane and a lot shorter than his cousin in the pictures that hung on the walls of his auntand uncle’s home. Those pictures of Shane were from when he’d finished boot camp, having traded his cowboy clothes for camo gear. Thankfully, Shane’s clothes from middle school fit Tim well—and he was damn grateful to have them.

When Shane was killed in Baghdad, it hit Tim’s aunt and uncle hard, but every time he wore one of Shane’s shirts, his Aunt Katie would smile and hug him tightly as if she was hugging her son again. It made Tim somewhat uncomfortable, but he’d never say a word because he loved her and owed her more than he could ever repay.

“Over here, Daddy!” the boy yelled back, waving his small hand in the air. Tim heard a faint, “crap,” guessing the boy next to him might be the Ryan Earl in question. Tim stared at the attractive brunet barreling toward them and observed the man appeared extremely worried and somewhat pissed off.

“Itoldyou to stay by the water fountain while I went to the men’s room. I came out, and you were gone.” The man knelt in front of the boy, pulling him into his arms so forcefully, the boy’s little cowboy hat fell off.

“Daddy, I was there like you said, but then Tommy Morrow came in with his dad, and we was talkin’ about the horse show tomorrow. He needed me to help him pick out new spurs, and when I got back to the water fountain, the bathroom door was open, and you was gone.”

The man reached up to dry his eyes with the back of his hands, which surprised Tim, but who was he to judge? He didn’t have kids, but if he were in the cowboy’s boots, thinking someone had taken the little boy, he’d be worried too.

The man in question picked up the boy’s hat and replaced it on his head. “I’m sorry, bud. I worry about ya. I haven’t had ya back long enough not to worry yet, okay?”

Ryan nodded and touched the side of his father’s face. “I’m okay, Daddy. I missed you while I was gone too.”

Tim was cemented to the spot—because he was nosy by nature—and based on their conversation that he was straining to hear, he was intrigued. What had separated the two of them for any significant length of time?

Of course, the cat had his tongue enough that he didn’t speak but looking into the sky-blue eyes of the good-looking man in front of him, Tim wasn’t surprised that his brain had shut down.

The cowboy stood and took the boy’s hand, holding it tightly in his own large one. “I’m Matthew Collins. This is my son, Ryan. Thank you for drawin’ his attention so he’d stay in one place where I could find him. You’re Josh Simmons’ nephew, right? He told me about you the other day when I came over to shoe that bay gelding, Chester, for you to ride,” the tall man stated.

Tim swallowed, knowing it was his turn to speak. “Yes, sir. I just got here Wednesday afternoon, myself. I graduated from Penn State, and Aunt Katie and Uncle Josh got me a U-Haul van so I could bring my stuff with me when I moved down. I didn’t have much because my apartment was furnished, so it was just my clothes and books and stuff. I’m here this summer to help Uncle Josh at the farm while I start my job search.” Tim was babbling nervously, certain he was making an ass of himself, but finding it very hard to shut up.

The cowboy chuckled. “I’m not really old enough to be asir. What’d you study in college?” The lopsided grin on the man’s handsome face was nearly more than Tim could handle.

“Computer programming and network security.” Tim’s was surprised he’d been able to answer because he was mesmerized by the man.

The cowboy’s grin grew into a full-size smile, which nearly brought Tim to his knees. “So, you’re a computer genius?”

Tim felt the blush begin at his neck and work its way north. “I don’t know if I’d say that, but I can hold my own, I guess. I’m at the Katydid to help Uncle Josh modernize his operations.I’m here because this is where he shops and aside from getting everything on this list, I need an idea of the things he uses so I can set up an automatic inventory and order system. Once that’s done, he won’t have to… Well, it’s kind of boring, but I’m excited about helping him. How about you?” Tim was eager to hear more about the handsome man in front of him.

Tim supposed it was his way of torturing himself by asking about the details of the cowboy’s life, but at the end of the day, the man was fucking hot, and Tim was dying of curiosity for any information the guy would volunteer.

“Well, aside from doin’ some farrier work for a few close friends, I own a cattle ranch. Instead of college, I chose to ride buckin’ bulls, first in the amateur ranks on the rodeo circuit, then on the professional circuit in the PBR. I retired from it, and I’m settled down with a son, so I breed and sell cattle.” Matt placed his hand on the boy’s shoulder protectively. The resemblance between the two was uncanny, right down to the blue eyes. Tim genuinely wondered what the mother looked like.

Ryan pulled his dad’s hand, so the man leaned down and listened to the boy’s whispers. When he was finished, the father smiled and nodded as he stood in front of Tim in all his six-plus-foot glory. “Me and the boy, here, we’d like it if you’d come out to our place sometime. Maybe you could come out and look at the business if you’re lookin’ to do a little freelancin’. I’m sure you could come up with ideas to update my operation and make it run smoother. If you have the time and any interest, ask Josh to give ya my number. I’d be happy to have ya take a look.”

“Uh, sure, Mr. Collins. Maybe next month? I’m still kind of getting settled with Uncle Josh’s operation.” Tim was overcome with nerves at the prospect of being alone with Matthew Collins. But then again, any red-blooded gay man would feel the same if they got a look at him.

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