Cowboy Got Me Shook (BWWM Romance)

Cowboy Got Me Shook (BWWM Romance)

Aaliyah Andrews

Cowboy Got Me Shook (BWWM Romance)

***

He didn’t fit in at all. He stood out obnoxiously. He was an older white guy wearing rugged jeans, serious boots, and a cowboy vest. She stifled a giggle, wanting to laugh more, but then she realized how handsome and confident this man was. He might’ve stood out, but he didn’t care. That confidence was a huge mystery to Angel.

And just her luck too, he headed her way. She thought it was a mistake at first, or that maybe he was asking why she was looking at him, maybe he was asking for directions, but no, when that solid, towering man stood next to her, glaring down at Angel, she knew this man wanted her for something.

“You lost, cowboy?”

Turns out he had found what he was looking for.

***

Tiana didn’t think it was going to work, but she had to try something. Grant was her last chance at bringing her daughter back.

She drove forty minutes past the suburbs to the country side, a nice drive, once she was out of the city's traffic. It should’ve been a lot nicer, but once again, Tiana was nervous about Angel. Angel hadn’t texted her in two days. Despite her mother’s anxiety, this was a common occurrence. At times, Tiana thought she might be an overbearing parent, but knew she had a right to freak out, where Angel was staying wasn’t particularly safe.

Angel liked to couch surf from one apartment to the next, hanging out with kids who were into the club scene. It wouldn’t bother Tiana that much, if it was a couple days a month, but it turned into a daily thing. At this rate, she would have no future. The last thing she wanted was for Angel to end up like her father.

She was much smarter than him, but Andre had been a smart man at some point too, it was hard to remember that at times. The people she was hanging out with, and the places she would sleep, Angel might get roped into something she wasn’t even directly involved in. That was the least of it. God knows what else was happening. Tiana tried to stop thinking about it, but she would constantly check her cell phone for a text message.

As she headed farther into the country, down a narrow, twisting road that was off the beaten path, her thoughts turned to her old friend, Grant. She always had a soft spot in her heart for him. He helped her so many times before. Could her old friend help her one last time?

She knew he tried to get away from it all, disappearing from public life, but she thought he still might be willing to do it for her. She could’ve sworn that some of the looks he used to give her were sexual, but she could never be sure, and it was a subject she feared to breach.

The lonely road opened up into open, rolling hills with some long stretches of farm land. There was so much space it kind of creeped Tiana out. The GPS signaled for it to be on her right in two minutes.

Two minutes later, she stopped in front of a long dirt road, wondering if she had the right place.

Wasn’t Grant supposed to be rich? Not just rich, but filthy rich and powerful? Rumor was Grant was a billionaire from all of his companies and investments. It made sense. A long time ago he was very powerful, one of the richest men in the club scene. He was a living legend. The legend was starting to fade since he went into hiding, but even years after, she had received calls and letters from people who wanted to run stories on him, one even wanting to make a movie based on his time in the business.

This didn’t look like a rich person’s place. There was a two story, standard looking farm house, two barns, lots of lands, and a fenced in section for cattle. Nice, but nothing a billionaire would own. There was no other option. The rest of the neighborhood looked the same. She took her sweet time driving down that road.

Someone knocked on his door.

Grant startled from bed. There was the pounding again. He threw on his boots and vest, hurrying, wondering what in the world happened. Grant never got many visitors. Never got any, actually.

Before Grant answered the door, he figured it was best to be safe, so he picked up his revolver from the cabinet, sliding it into the holster on the inside of his vest.

“One second,” he said. Grunting, he answered the door, one hand resting near his vest, the other holding the door, ready to slam it in their face.

He figured trouble. Why else would anyone want to see him?

Upon opening the door, his hand sprang away from the revolver.

“Tiana?”

“Grant,” she said, all smile, warming him to his icy, early morning core.

“Hi,” he said, stunned. He hadn’t seen her in years. He couldn’t remember how many years it had been. She didn’t change at all. What was that saying,
black doesn’t crack?
She was the epitome of that. With wide hips, and a curvy body, she brought back the familiar lust in him.

“I almost didn’t knock. I was worried I had the wrong house.”

“Sorry, I forgot my manners. Come on in. I was just surprised to see you.”

She scooted her curvy self in, almost brushing past Grant as she did. He could feel the tingle between his thighs, the desire to reach out and have her, something that he hadn’t felt in years. She could still do it to him. Her body still seemed supple and soft, her lips plump and just asking for a proper kiss.

But Grant would never. She reminded him of a time long gone, a time he didn’t want to revisit. That small twinge of lust was all he would ever feel, then it was gone, like those times far beyond him.

“Have a seat,” he told her, his tone grim. Judging by her wavering, nervous smile he didn’t think this was a friendly visit.

“Thanks,” she said, taking a seat. She looked around. “Didn’t think you’d be holed up in a place like this.”

“A little different. I like the peace and quiet.” Grant took a seat across from her at the kitchen table.

Tiana’s eyes darted to her cell phone, clutched tightly in her palm.

“What’s bothering you?”

“Why would you say something is bothering me?”

“Come on,” he said, “you’re too obvious.”

She sighed and deflated. “It’s my daughter, Angel.”

Angel.

Grant hadn’t heard that name in a long time. She must’ve been in college by now. Judging by how nervous Tiana was, this was serious.

“She’s getting herself in trouble.”

“What kind of trouble?’

“Messing around with the wrong types.”

“Uh huh. Like mother like daughter.”

That stung. Tiana turned away. “That was a long time ago. Andre is locked up. They threw away the key on that nigga, don’t forget.”

“You’re right, I’m sorry. It’d just be a shame for her to end up the same way.”

“That’s exactly my point.”

“How can I help?”

Grant shuffled in his seat. He gripped a nearby cup, tapping his fingers against it, trying to think of how he could help. How could he help? He didn’t know the first thing about Tiana’s daughter. They never met.

Tiana stared him down. It was hard to intimidate Grant, but seeing those intense motherly eyes sharpen on him could do it.

“You’ve got a good thing going here. I need someone to give her some discipline. You’re the only man tough enough to do it. And since you’ve got a ranch here, and a lot of work that needs to be done, I thought you could put her to work. Give her some tough love, you know?”

If only Grant could say no, but she seemed hopeless. He wasn’t cold hearted, but what did he know about teaching a girl discipline? Tiana must’ve been thinking about long ago, when he was a king pin, a major player in the club scene, owning some of NYC’s finest clubs. He was the man to beat - meticulous, obsessively disciplined, and ahead of the curve.

But she was desperate, and he couldn’t watch Tiana’s daughter fall into the same traps that Andre did. At one time, Andre and him had been good friends, but the drugs messed him up. Drugs, crime, then jail, leaving Tiana a single mother. If anything, it might help to have another hand helping out. He had small tasks that needed tending to.

Grant wouldn’t even need to communicate much with her. Have the girl do some tasks, report to him, then send her on her way. If she didn’t come out a good egg, what could he do? The least he could do was try. At least she would be on his ranch and not somewhere seedy.

“Sure,” he said. “When will we get started? I have some things around here that could use some work.”

“How about tomorrow?”

“That works for me,” he said.

“Grant, you’re a life saver,” she said, so happy that she got up and hugged him, pressing her soft, massive breasts against his shoulder. When she moved away, he felt a familiar loneliness.

“Want something to drink? We probably have a lot of catching up to do.”

“I’m sorry to do this, but I’ve got to get going. I’m working two jobs, and I already called in a hour late. Can I get your phone number so I don’t have to drive up all the time to talk to you?”

“Sure,” he said, and he wrote his number down.

Tiana took it and headed to the door.

“Sorry to run out. I’ll be in touch. Angel will be here tomorrow.”

“I get up early, probably earlier than she does, so I’ll be here and ready.”

“Thanks again, Grant,” she said, leaving him alone again, wondering just what in the world he agreed to.

Angel spotted Jamal, her one true, in the VIP section of the Supreme as usual. Wearing a black sleeveless dress with a textured blue strap down the front and a mesh cut out in the back, Angel was dressed to steal him tonight. She hoped he wouldn’t be foolish enough to turn away from her again. He was always busy, always surrounded by his crew, getting wrapped up in silly games when he should be wrapped up in her.

She had Shanice by her side to help wrangle him in. Not like she would be much help. Her friend was more interested in getting high with Trigga, Jamal’s best friend. Already she headed past the crowd of people to the back section to be with him.

“Can we not go there yet?” Angel asked.

“Come on, girl, I gotta have some fun. Let me cut loose.”

Angel felt like saying, when aren’t you cutting loose? But she kept her mouth shut. She wanted to have a pleasant evening. If she had to hang out at the bar and chat with some acquaintances, that was fine with her, as long as she got to hear Jamal. He was set to start at eleven, so there was plenty of time left, since it was only nine thirty.

A more poppy, electronic hip hop song blasted from the stage with everyone dancing near the middle. There were three floors to the Supreme, the second floor being in the rafters which could look out at the action below and you could sip on some wine and relax and chill, but the bottom floor was all action. Top floor was for the business operations and some of the other high rolling guests like the top acts that came rolling in.

It wasn’t a bad place. It wasn’t her favorite, but she’d been to smaller places recently. The atmosphere paled in comparison, but that’s not what she was there for. She was there for Jamal, bad boy rapper, but still had his whits about him, a perfect combination.

But make no mistake, Angel would’ve been at some other club if not this one tonight. She loved the atmosphere, loved the excitement of clubbing.

Shanice pushed her way through the crowd until they got to the VIP area, on a platform slightly raised from the dance floor in the back, darker with leather couches and bottle service. You could hardly see all of the seats, taken up by the huge crowd that came to these events.

It was funny how Shanice could just strut all the way through the gates to get back there. No one even tried to stop her.

“Yo, Trigga,” she yelled.

Angel knew what that meant.

“Yo, Shanice. Where you been?” He slapped his friend on the back and took her by the shoulder, starting to lead her away from the VIP section, back out to the dance floor, but Angel expected really to the bathrooms or some seedy alley way in order to do some coke. Anything but H. She didn’t want to deal with Shanice again on H.

“What you mean where I been? I just got here. We going to turn this up or what?”