Discovering Dani (River's End Ranch Book 20)

by Cindy Caldwell

Dani shoved her phone in her pocket as she said, “I love you, too.”

  Chapter 18

  New Year’s Day dawned bright and cheerful—the sky was bright and clear, the air crisp and the mountains beautiful—none of it raising Dani’s spirits a single bit.

  She’d spent New Year’s Eve alone, staring at her phone. It sat on the couch between her and Kitty, loudly not ringing. In the week since Travis had left, it hadn’t rung once, no matter how hard she stared at it.

  She’d gone to work as usual, even though most of her family had taken the week off. She couldn’t stand sitting in the cabin alone, and it was all she could think of to do. She saw Travis everywhere she looked, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get Kitty to sit on her lap. At least the cat had stopped laying by the door and purring, as if she expected Travis to walk in any moment.

  He wasn’t going to. Dani dropped her head in her hands as she remembered the look on his face when she’d walked away. She’d wanted to go with him, almost asked him to take her with him, but as she stared at the picture of her family that sat on the counter, she also remembered why she couldn’t, why she knew she had to stay. Kelsi would be having her baby not too long from now, and she didn’t want to miss it, and she didn’t want Kelsi to miss her.

  She’d gotten so used to her phone not ringing that she actually jumped when it did.

  “Hi, Kelsi,” she said as checked the display and clicked it on. “Happy New Year.”

  “Good grief, you sound awful,” Kelsi said. “What’s wrong with you?”

  “Nothing. Just celebrating the beginning of another horrible year.”

  “Dani Weston, stop. Bad enough you didn’t come last night to celebrate. Snap out of it.”

  “Easier said than done.” Kitty jumped on the counter and rubbed against her cheek, and it was all Dani could do not to burst into tears—not a feeling she was accustomed to at all.

  “All right, this is silly. We’re over at the Main House, in the TV room. We’re just having a family breakfast. Please come.”

  “I don’t think I can.”

  “If you don’t get dressed right now and come over, I’m sending Jaclyn.”

  Dani took in a sharp breath. “No, don’t. I’ll get dressed and be right over.”

  The last person she wanted to see was Jaclyn. She’d gone over their last conversation in her mind a million times, and no matter how right Jaclyn thought Travis was for her, and she for him, she couldn’t change the facts. He had to be away from River’s End Ranch and she had to stay. She wanted to stay. No two ways about it.

  She pulled on some jeans and her boots, grabbing a sweater from her closet. “I won’t be gone long, Kitty,” she said as she set a small bit of tuna in her dish. She could at least do that for Kitty since Travis couldn’t anymore.

  She trudged to the Main House, barely feeling the cold. All her brothers’ vehicles were there, as well as Shane’s sheriff’s truck. She didn’t remember them mentioning they were having a New Year’s Day party, but she could have easily been told and she didn’t remember.

  The first thing she did was pour herself another cup of coffee, hoping it might pull her out of her funk. It took her a moment to notice that her family was piled in the TV room, all staring at the monitor. She poked her head in the kitchen, reached in the bakery case and grabbed a donut before she headed down to where they were sitting, pulling up a chair in the back.

  “What are you all doing?” she asked as she plonked down on the chair and took a bite of her donut. “Since when did you all watch races?”

  “Not just any race, silly. Look. It’s Travis’s race.”

  Dani’s stomach dropped into her shoes as she turned toward the TV. She’d told herself all week she wouldn’t watch the race, and she was pretty positive she’d told her whole family that she wouldn’t watch the race. They’d really set her up and she wasn’t at all happy about it.

  “No, thanks,” she said as she pushed the chair back and stood. “I don’t want to watch.”

  Kelsi reached out for her hand and held on tight. “Please? For me?”

  “Why? Just to make it worse?” She pulled her hand back and searched Kelsi’s eyes, which were so much like her own.

  “Trust me, Dani. Please.”

  The rest of her family turned back toward the TV as she sat down. The race must have started a while ago, and she couldn’t turn away as it neared its end. Travis had a strong lead, and she closed her eyes, imagining him in the car having the time of his life.

  She was happy for him, she really was. She knew he loved what he did, and she wouldn’t begrudge him that—although she missed him more than she thought she would.

  Her family erupted in cheers when he won, and she found herself clapping along with them, standing in the back of the room with a smile as wide as she’d ever had.

  “That was fantastic,” Wade said, Maddie sitting beside him. “He’s really good.”

  “Yes, he is,” Dani said, as her memory rushed back to their exhilarating ride on the snowmobile, on the torch-lit course—and the kiss that followed.

  They watched on TV as he pulled his car up to the winner’s circle and hopped out, waving to the crowd. She could tell that he was happy, in his element. She’d thought he was happy at the ranch, but she could tell now that this was what he was meant to do.

  “Hey, wait a minute,” Wyatt said as Travis walked toward the podium and stopped to talk to an older couple. “Is that Mom and Dad?”

  “What?” Dani said as she walked closer to the TV. They all sat silent as Travis stood in front of them, on TV in Florida, and their parents both hugged him, and he hugged them right back.

  “What’s happening?” Dani said as Travis reached for a phone her mother held out to him and looked like he was calling someone. He shrugged his shoulders and held the phone up to her mother, who frowned and stared at it.

  “Dani, where’s your phone?” Kelsi asked, her voice a little higher pitched than normal.

  Dani felt in her pockets. “I don’t know. I must have left it at home,” she said as Kelsi’s phone rang and she fished it out of her purse. She smiled when she looked at it, clicked on the call and said, “Hang on a second,” before she handed the phone to Dani.

  She stared at it a moment before she took it and quietly said, “Hello?”

  “Daniella. It’s me, Travis,” she heard and her knees almost buckled as she turned to the TV. The commentators were talking about the race so nobody could hear what he was saying but her. The camera was on Travis, where he stood with her parents. Her mom and dad. It was surreal.

  “Hello, Travis. Congratulations,” she said as her family pretended they weren’t listening, but not doing a very good job of it.

  “Oh, you’re watching?” he asked, and she laughed as he waved at the cameras, and her parents did, too.

  Kelsi hugged Shane as they both smiled at her, Kelsi looking like a cat who’d swallowed a canary.

  “Daniella, I—I need to know. If I come back...well, can I come back? I miss you. I left my heart there at the Ranch. With you. And I need it back.”

  Dani waved at the TV, even though somewhere in the part of her brain that was still working, she realized he couldn’t see her.

  “Yes. Yes, please. Come back.”

  “See you soon,” he said before he clicked off, and she watched him turn to her mother and hug her again, her mom planting a big kiss on his cheek.

  He strode over to the podium, and her family cheered as he announced his retirement, right then and there, in front of all of them.

  Her knees finally did buckle as the TV went to a commercial, and she buried her face in her hands as Kelsi wrapped her arms around her twin. She looked up into her blue eyes and wiped away a tear, the first she’d shed since Travis left.

  “You knew about this, didn’t you?”

  “Maybe,” she said as Shane came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. “I just want you to be as happy as I am, Dani.”


  “We all do,” Jaclyn said as she leaned against the door jamb. “Guess there are second chances, after all.”

  Chapter 19

  “That was quite a race,” the fellow who’d introduced himself as Frank said through the microphone as the helicopter lifted off. “And quite a scene afterward.”

  “Yeah, I guess maybe it was,” Travis said as he fingered the velvet box in his pocket.

  It had been a scene—but a good one, to his mind. And a hard-won at that.

  When he’d gotten to Florida, he thought his heart would never stop hurting. And when his phone calls to Daniella had gone unanswered, it had gotten worse by the day. He could barely concentrate on driving, and his sponsors deserved better. He deserved better, and certainly Daniella deserved better.

  He’d finally called Mrs. Weston, pouring his heart out to her, baring his soul and his love for her daughter.

  She’d chuckled when he had. “I know. Why do you think I sent you with the truck?” and they’d had a good laugh. He was grateful. But he’d also told her that Dani’s love for the ranch and her family was something that he wouldn’t infringe on, and their lives didn’t mesh.

  “I know you love racing, Travis,” she’d said. “But it’s clear you love Dani, too.”

  And with that, his head had started spinning. His sponsors deserved a driver with his heart all in—and his wasn’t. It was at River’s End Ranch, in Dani’s hands. He wasn’t sure what he’d do there if he retired from the racing circuit, but he’d made plenty of money—enough to not have to work again if he didn’t want to. So his decision was easy to make.

  That was if Dani felt the same way. Somewhere, he knew she must, and his mind played the sight of the hurt in her crystal blue eyes for him over and over, every time he closed his eyes. He realized that if he didn’t try, he’d never know, so they’d come up with his rather public declaration, and he laughed that he’d gone to such great lengths to try to win his girl. It was normally something he’d never do, but he had absolutely no doubt that Daniella was worth the risk.

  As they soared between the mountains of River’s End Ranch, swooping between stands of trees and over the frozen small lakes, he realized that he loved the mountains, the wildlife, the Old West town, and heck, today maybe even Frank, the pilot he’d just met. His heart was full, and he couldn’t wait to have Daniella in his arms once again.

  Chapter 20

  Flyboy’s Fancy

  by

  Kirsten Osbourne

  Chapter One

  Debbie White pulled over to the side of the road when her phone started ringing. She was finished with clients for the day and headed to her lonely home in Boise Bench. She’d purchased the home years before, right before her daughter Miranda had started school, because it was the best ranked school system in the area. Her children had been her life for so long, she almost wasn’t sure what to do without them.

  She grabbed her phone, noting the number was from Riston, Idaho, where her daughter lived. She swiped her finger across the screen and answered it. “Hello?”

  “Mrs. White, this is Wade Weston. I’m the manager of River’s End Ranch. I was calling about the application you put in to be the director of our new child care center.”

  Debbie blinked. She’d put the application in at the first of January and done the interview then. It had been three weeks. Surely this was a courtesy call to tell her she hadn’t gotten the post. “Yes?”

  “We’d be happy to have you join our team as the director of our Kids’ Korral. We want the center to be up and running by the end of end of February, so we’d like you to start in a couple of weeks. Is that possible?”

  Debbie put her hand over her heart. She badly wanted to live near her daughter, but how could working with children possibly allow her to make enough to live? She’d given up her dream of working with kids when her own were small. The only reason she’d bothered to put in an application was because Miranda had insisted. “May I ask what the pay would be?”

  Wade named a figure that was higher than she had expected, but not nearly as much as she currently made. “Our staff cabin is currently empty, and you’d be welcome to rent it inexpensively.” The figure he named had her eyes widening.

  As a real estate agent, she knew how much equity she had in her current home, and she knew how quickly it would sell. She closed her eyes and put all of her positive energy into her words. “I’ll take it.”

  “I’m pleased to hear that, Mrs. White. How soon can you be on the ranch?”

  She calculated quickly. She could give a week’s notice and pack up her house every available moment, while working with her current clients. Any that were left that refused to be referred to another agent, she could return for. “I can be there a week from Monday.” It was only ten days, but surely she could manage. “Is that soon enough?”

  “That sound good to me. I’ll make certain your cabin is ready for you. Welcome to the River’s End team. Please come to my office that morning, and we’ll take care of all the paperwork.”

  “I’ll be there.” As she set the phone on the seat, she took deep gulping breaths. What had she just agreed to do? She was going to be a day care director, which was the job she’d had when her husband had died, leaving her with two small children to raise on her own. It was a job she’d enjoyed more than any other.

  As she put her car in gear and slowly merged back into traffic, she smiled. She was moving to River’s End Ranch, which was the most beautiful place in all of Idaho—all of the world! And she was going to be happy there. She could feel it.

  *****

  Debbie pulled onto the ranch ten days later. She’d stayed one night at her daughter’s house in Riston, but her car was full of all of the essentials. She’d decided that starting over meant just that, so she’d sold many of her possessions. There was a contract on the house where she’d raised her children, and her life was about to do a one hundred-eighty degree turn.

  She stopped in front of the main house, where Miranda told her Wade’s office was and hurried up to the building. Miranda and her husband Bob had left for work at four, while she was still sleeping. Miranda was the baker there on the ranch, and Bob was the cook in the small diner.

  Surprised at how nervous she was about starting a new job, she took deep breaths as she walked to the front desk. “I’m looking for Wade Weston.”

  “Are you Mrs. White?” the woman at the desk asked.

  “I am.”

  “It’s so good to meet you! Miranda said her mom was coming. Wade’s waiting for you. He’s ready to get the paperwork done and show you to the Kids’ Korral. We’re all really excited to have you here.”

  “He can speak for himself.” Wade looked bemused as he watched the two women talking. “Mrs. White? Come in!” He held his office door open for her. “Did you have trouble finding me?”

  Debbie took the seat he gestured to, crossing one leg over the other. She’d opted not to wear one of her business suits she usually wore for work, and instead wore a pair of jeans, a button-up shirt, and a pair of cowboy boots. There was still quite a bit of snow on the ground, and she knew she’d need the jacket she’d left in the car. “No trouble at all. Miranda and Bob told me just where you’d be.”

  “That’s right, you’re Miranda’s mother. It’s a good thing we don’t worry about nepotism here on the ranch.” He steepled his fingers together and looked at her over them. “What do you know about the ranch?”

  She shrugged. “Not a whole lot. I know that it’s owned and run by the Weston siblings. There are six of you. You have fun Christmas traditions, and you employ a wonderful baker and a fabulous cook.”

  “Don’t tell Bob he’s fabulous, please. The man will never let anyone else forget it.”

  Debbie smiled, recognizing the truth behind his words. “Miranda tells him too often for him to ever forget it, I’m afraid.”

  Wade groaned. “We might need to muzzle your daughter.”

  “Tell me ab
out the Kids’ Korral.”

  Wade smiled. “Well, we’ve been talking about having a drop-in daycare on the ranch for years, so our guests can participate in activities that aren’t quite as family friendly. We plan to open the daycare at five in the morning, and we’ll close it at midnight. I know those are some long hours, but some of the ranch workers will be dropping their children off as they start their shifts. We also want there to be the opportunity for our guests to participate in some of our night activities. We may end up adjusting those hours as we go.” Wade pushed a folder at her. “If you’ll get the paperwork sighed, I’ll take you over to the building we’re using. It’s actually one of the houses from our Old West Town, but we thought we’d convert it. The actual construction work is done, and now we’re ready to get the teachers in there and the rooms set up.”

  “Sounds good to me.” Debbie couldn’t believe how excited she was at the opportunity. She quickly filled out the paperwork while Wade left the room for a moment.

  When she’d finished, he was back. “Are you ready to see it?” His eyes twinkled with excitement. He was obviously very proud of the child center they’d put together.

  “I’d love to see it.” As they left the main building, she noticed a man talking to the girl at the front desk.

  “Yeah, I can do the helicopter tour today. I don’t have any flights until tomorrow that I know of.” The man was wearing a blue ball cap, and he seemed very laidback to Debbie. She didn’t get to see his face, but there was something about his voice that made her stop for a moment before hurrying on after Wade.

  After seeing the Kids’ Korral and the small cabin she’d been assigned to live in for the time being, she walked over to Kelsey’s Kafé for lunch. She knew she’d get a good meal, because her son-in-law was the cook there. Wade had told her to take the day to settle in, and she could start setting up the center the following day. She couldn’t believe how excited she was to get started.