“You married the sheriff, right? I think that’s what Liz told me.”
“I did. He did all the pursuing, though. Well, other than the first kiss, because I grabbed him and made that happen myself.” Kelsi rushed off to the kitchen, got the sandwiches from the chef, and hurried back. She packed them into the box and put the whole thing into a bag with Kelsey’s Kafé emblazoned on the side. “Here you go.”
Kaya paid and hurried off toward the stable. Liz had given her and May maps of the ranch the night before, so she had an idea of where to go. She was amazed at the sheer size of the place.
As soon as she stepped outside the café, she saw Glen walking toward her. “Hi you!”
He grinned. “Hi.” Never had he met a woman he was so instantly attracted to, and he could feel that it was mutual. It was too bad he couldn’t transport her five years into the future. He’d be ready for her then.
“I got us lunch from the café. I thought we could have a picnic.”
He frowned. He wanted nothing more than to sit down with her and get to know her better, but he just wasn’t sure that was the best idea for him. “Well, I was going to the café…”
Kaya wasn’t about to take no for an answer after all the work she’d put into getting everything ready—not to mention getting up before the crack of noon. She grabbed his arm, tucking her hand through it. “I have lunch. You have to eat, and I promise not to bite. Eat with me.”
He sighed. “Yeah, okay.” There were benches all along the walking paths of the ranch, and he walked to the nearest one, her hand on his arm the whole way.
He sat down on one end of the bench, and she put their meal between them, pulling out goodies. She divvied them up, well aware of his eyes on her. “I met your sister at the grocery store last night.”
“How’d you know she’s my sister?” The two of them looked nothing alike. He was as dark as he could be and still be Caucasian, and she had red hair and pale skin.
“Liz told me.” She opened her bag of Cheetos, immediately worrying about the mess she’d make. She’d have Cheeto dust everywhere in a minute. Looking into the box, she pulled out a few napkins and set them on her lap, ready to apply them to remove the layer of orange that was about to cover her. “She said you’re about to have your doctorate in psychology. What is a cowboy going to do with a PhD in psychology?” She’d figured him for more of a veterinarian type man. Or even just an agriculture major.
Glen took a big bite of his sandwich, studying her. Not many people knew about his plans. “My uncle left me a ranch. It’s nothing like River’s End, of course, but it’s a decent size. It was run-down and dilapidated by the time I got it, but I see potential. I’m going to turn it into an equine therapy center.”
“Really?” Her eyes grew big as she studied him. “That’s so cool!”
He smiled, ducking his head. He hadn’t expected such an enthusiastic response. “My study is concentrated in Autism spectrum disorders, and I want to make a difference in the world. I think this is my way to do it.”
“Wow. And here I thought you were just a cowboy. I’m really impressed. I think that’s an incredible goal. How much longer before you have your PhD?”
Dawna had been right. Once he started talking about his plans, his face lit up, and he talked a lot about his hopes and dreams. Watching him while she ate, Kaya was thrilled she hadn’t been so drawn to just a muscle-bound cowboy. No, this man—this very special man—was going to do something for others, and she couldn’t be prouder.
When they’d finished eating, Kaya gathered up their trash and walked to a nearby trash receptacle. “Is working at the ranch helping you with your goals?”
“It is. I have the psychology stuff down, but I need to learn more about horses to be good at what I plan to do. So, I’m here to work with Wyatt Weston. He’s incredible with horses. Sometimes it seems that they can just read his mind. I want to learn to be more like him. I mean, I’ve ridden my whole life, and I’ve always had a special affinity toward them, but Wyatt—you have to see him to believe. It’s like they can hear what he’s thinking and they respond.”
“What is on your agenda for this afternoon? I’d sure like to learn to ride.”
He frowned, knowing he was making a mistake, but he genuinely enjoyed being with her. She was a fun, interesting person. “Tomorrow is Wednesday, and I have Wednesdays and Thursdays off. I work on the weekends so Wyatt doesn’t have to if he doesn’t want to. Why don’t we meet tomorrow, and I’ll teach you to ride? That way I don’t have to charge you.”
“Will you get in trouble for that?”
Glen shook his head, a lock of dark hair settling over his forehead. “Not at all. They don’t care what I do on my time off, and the ranch is open for me to use. I keep two of my horses here. It’s easier for me to take care of them this way, and if the ranch has a huge party going out on a trail ride, they can use them.” He stopped walking and turned to her. “You’re a nice girl, Kaya, so I need to tell you something.” He had to give her the opportunity to back away now. She deserved to know the truth if they were to spend time together.
She cocked her head to one side, curious about what had brought the gloomy look to his face. “What’s that?”
“I’m not looking for a relationship. At all. It’ll be years before my therapy center is built up enough to support a family.”
“I make money too, you know. I don’t do as well as May does, but I hold my own. I can certainly support myself.”
He shrugged. “Doesn’t really matter. It’s not a good time for me to start a relationship. We can be friends for the time you’re here, but I don’t want you to hold out hope for more than that.”
“What if that’s not good enough for me?”
He shook his head. “Then I’ll have to say there’s no point in us being together at all. I don’t have time for distractions right now.”
She sighed. “And I’m a distraction.” She took a step closer, leaned toward him, and brushed her lips against his. “I had to know what it felt like to kiss you.”
“And?” Glen was surprised he could find his voice. The woman beside him was something else.
“As magical as I expected.” Taking a deep breath, she forced a smile on her face. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Around nine?”
“Noon?”
He frowned. “You’re a night owl?”
She nodded. “I write through the night usually. I could go as early as eleven.”
“Okay, meet me here at eleven. I’ll bring a lunch.”
“Sounds good.” She turned and ran before he could say anything else. She didn’t care what he said though—Glen was going to fall in love with her. She could feel it.
Chapter Three
As the three friends worked together that evening, eating the chicken and rice dish Kaya had prepared, Liz asked Kaya how her lunch with Glen had gone. Kaya was surprised it hadn’t happened sooner, but when she’d returned to the cabin, Liz and May were out eating lunch, and Kaya had gone straight to her room to take a nap. She knew there was no way she’d be able to work after so little sleep the night before if she didn’t.
“I don’t know. I mean, it was a nice meal. And I really like him. He told me that he’s not ready for a relationship, though, and I need to know that going in.” Kaya took another bite of her dinner, shrugging. “So I kissed him.”
May stared at her in shock. “You kissed him? Because he told you he’s not looking for a relationship? Kaya, I’ve always considered you to be a bright woman, but I have to ask you something.”
“What’s that?”
“Have you lost your ever-loving mind? When a man tells you he’s not interested in a relationship, you don’t kiss him! You say thank you and back off!”
“Maybe that’s what you do, May. It appears I kiss him. He wasn’t even trying to kiss me either. I just leaned in and locked lips with him. I’m sure I can convince him that he’s making a mistake.”
M
ay simply shook her head. “I think you’re making a huge mistake.”
Kaya shrugged. “Maybe I am, but I believe in love. I believe if I see a man, and fall for him at first sight, then I’m meant to have a relationship with him. So, I’m going to pursue that relationship. I may go back to Texas in two weeks with my tail between my legs. I may end up with a broken heart. But I won’t regret anything. I will know I did everything I could to live life to the fullest, because that’s the right thing to do.”
May bit her lip, obviously struggling not to criticize her friend. “I love you, Kaya. I hope you don’t get hurt, but we’ll be here for you if you need us.”
Kaya smiled in her cheery way. “Sounds good. Now, to conquer a couple of chapters tonight. I think Hailey needs to do something wild and crazy, if only to make Theo’s head spin.”
Kaya was aware the others kept watching her as they wrote that night, concern written all over their faces. She forced herself not to care. If love wasn’t worth taking risks for, what was?
* * *
Kaya dressed carefully for her riding lesson with Glen the following day. She wore jeans, a pair of pink cowboy boots, and a pink and blue plaid button up shirt. When she was dressed, she looked at herself in the mirror for a moment before hurrying out the door. She’d hit her word goal the night before, but just barely. She’d be taking another nap after less than four hours of sleep, but it was worth it to see Glen.
Liz seemed to be adjusting to her and May’s sleep schedule for the time they were there, and though Kaya knew she’d go back to her normal schedule once she was home again, she was glad they had the extra time with her. Liz was everything Kaya had hoped she’d be.
Kaya all but ran toward the stables, running a little later than she’d like. The boots weren’t the best footwear to run in, though, so it was more of a very fast walk than a true run.
Glen was waiting for her with two saddled horses. “I have lunch in my saddle bags,” he said in lieu of a greeting.
“Oh, good. I was writing until six, so I didn’t even think about it!”
He stared at her for a moment. “You wrote until six this morning?” Did anyone really keep that kind of hours?
She nodded. “Yup.” He was wearing a pair of old faded jeans, cowboy boots covered in mud—at least she hoped it was mud—and a button up shirt. “Hey, we’re Twinkies!”
“Twinkies?” he asked, confused.
“Maybe it’s just a Texas thing. We’re dressed alike, so we’re twins, but we say Twinkies? I’m really not sure why…”
He smiled, shaking his head. “I guess we are. And I hope you like Twinkies, because I packed some for dessert.”
She laughed, going to him and hugging him. Every time she touched him, she felt a jolt of electricity go straight through her body, so she touched him whenever she could. It was research after all. How could she continue writing convincingly about a couple who had so much passion for each other if she never felt it for herself?
He took her hand to help her up onto the horse. “Put your left foot in the stirrup, and you’ll swing your right leg over his back.” She listened and was soon seated in the saddle, straight and tall. “Good job. This is Muffin by the way.”
“Muffin? Oh, I love that name! What’s your horse’s name?” she asked, nodding to the mare he was mounting.
“Molly.” He sighed. “Don’t ask. My sister wanted to name them, and I told her she could before I asked her what her ideas were.”
“Well, I like the names!”
“Of course you do.” He studied her for a moment, and then decided it was time to get on with the riding lesson. “To go forward, you’re going to click your heels on the horse’s sides. To stop, you pull on the reins. I’m going to ride in front, because I want to take you through the old West town and down by the lake. I thought we could picnic there.”
“That would please me like nothing else I can express. There’s something about being near water that just makes me so happy and fills my mind with new characters that demand to be written.” She sighed happily. “I went on a cruise for my best friend’s wedding a few months back, and my sister and I had a balcony room. I sat out on that balcony every single night and felt the ideas pouring over me. I can’t express what a beautiful experience it was.”
“You have a sister? Older or younger?”
“She’s five minutes younger. I call her Bridget the Midget.”
Glen laughed. “Is she that short?” he asked, calling over his shoulder.
“Yup. She’s five-two, and I’m just under six-one. It’s hard to believe we’re not only sisters but twins.”
They were silent for the five-minute ride to the mock town. He waited until she was beside him and pointed out the different buildings. “Each of the buildings has an old West look, but we give them true purposes here. The jail is where ranch security is based. The bakery is really a bakery. The general store sells everything from groceries to ranch apparel. The blacksmith shop is the headquarters for the ranch maintenance team. The apothecary is a first aid station, run by a nurse, so if there are any injuries they can be seen to immediately. The saloon is a soda shop.”
“That’s really clever! I love the ambience of the town, but I like the fact that they’re not just wasted buildings too.” She noted there were rails to hitch the horses to and even troughs for the horses to drink from.
“There’s always something going on here. There’s trivia night at the restaurant on Thursdays, and there are trail rides. White water rafting. You name it, and the ranch offers it. There’s even a golf course.”
“It really seems to be an amazing place!”
“Oh, it truly is.” He was still moving slowly, talking to her as they went. “Have you been to the lake yet?”
“We’re staying at the Bearfoot Bungalow, which is right on the lake. My room has a little porch that overlooks it, and I sit out there sometimes, listening to the sounds. I don’t know how I’m ever going to be able to go back to Texas after being here. It’s absolutely amazing.”
He grinned. “Okay, I’m going to lead again. Are you and Muffin doing all right? Any questions for me?”
“Yes, we’re doing fine. Nope, no questions.” Well, maybe a couple. Like will you kiss me again? Want to spend every waking moment with me while I’m here?
He pulled ahead of her again, leading her past a small house with a yard covered in leprechaun, gnome, and fairy lawn ornaments. He sped up a little as he rode past the house, but Kaya was sure she could see at least six bunnies lined up on a window seat watching them pass. She made a mental note to ask Liz who lived there later.
They went through a wooded area, past more RVs than Kaya cared to count, and finally they were at the lake. Glen dismounted quickly and tied the reins of his horse to a hitching post, obviously put there for just that purpose. There was a trough with a water pump over it, and he quickly pumped some water into the trough for his horse to drink.
When he walked over to her, she was still in her saddle, making no move to get down. “Are you going to get down and eat with me?”
Kaya looked at him, on the ground so far below her, and smiled sweetly. “I think I’m good where I am, thanks. Why don’t you just hand me my lunch, and I’ll eat it here?”
He sighed. “You’re afraid to get down, aren’t you?”
“Why would I be afraid? Is there a reason for me to be afraid?” Panic entered her voice, and she clutched the saddle horn for dear life.
“No, there’s not. You remember how you got up there, right? Just do the same thing coming back down. Put your weight in the stirrup on the left side, and swing your right leg over. I’ll be here to catch you if you fall.”
She stared at him for a moment, trying to determine if he was strong enough to catch her. She was slender, but she was tall, and she’d never met a man who she trusted to handle her weight if necessary. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
“Kaya, you have to get down sometime. If you stay
in that saddle for much longer without a break, your bum is going to get awfully sore!”
She gave him her best shocked Southern Belle look. “Glen! Did you just mention my bum? Why, that’s as good as a marriage proposal in some parts of the world!”
He rolled his eyes, refusing to let her change the subject. “Come on. I’ll be right here, I promise.”
In the end, he didn’t need to catch her, because she dismounted gracefully. “I guess these horses are a lot more fun than the carousel horses at Six Flags.”
He shook his head, taking the horse’s reins and tying her next to her companion. “Let’s go eat.” He dug through the saddle bags and pulled out a small feast while she watched. Then he led her over to the edge of the water where there were two huge rocks next to each other. He took a seat on one, and indicated the other for her.
“You were worried about the comfort of my bum not even a minute ago, and now you’re going to make me sit on a rock?”
Glen laughed softly. “It’s either that or the grass, and I think you’ll find the rock more comfortable.”
She wrinkled her nose but climbed onto the rock, accepting the lunch he handed her. “Ham and pimento cheese again.”
“Yeah, it’s all I ever eat for lunch. I made these myself though.”
She took a big swig of the Sprite he’d given her before responding. “Thanks for providing lunch for me. You’re giving me free horseback lessons, so technically I should probably be feeding you.”
“So tell me about your sister. She’s five minutes younger than you? Are you two really close?”
Kaya sighed. “My relationship with my sister is—complicated. When we’re together, we just want to go for each other’s throats. We seem to have two choices. Act ridiculous or fight with each other. So usually we choose to act ridiculous.”
He frowned at that. “What do you mean act ridiculous?”
“Well, we went on a cruise, because our friend Jenni was being set up at the altar, right?”
Glen stared at her in disbelief. “When you say set up at the altar, do you mean she married someone she’d never met?”
Ranch's Retreat (River's End Ranch Book 6) Page 3
