Ranch's Retreat (River's End Ranch Book 6) Read online

  Ranch’s Retreat

  River’s End Ranch Book 6

  Kirsten Osbourne

  Unlimited Dreams

  Contents

  Introduction

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Excerpt

  About the Author

  Also by Kirsten Osbourne

  Ranch’s Retreat

  Book Five in River’s End Ranch

  Kirsten Osbourne

  Copyright 2016 Kirsten Osbourne

  Kindle Edition, License Notes

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  Introduction

  Kaya Taylor lived a simple, quiet life. As a single romance writer, she spent most of her time alone, except for her online friends. Going on a writer’s retreat to some huge destination ranch in Idaho sounded like a dream come true. She would get to spend time with a couple of her closest friends, be in new surroundings, and maybe even learn to ride a horse. On her first night on the ranch, she saw Glen and knew her heart would always belong to him.

  Glen Johnson had a plan. He was only a few months from getting his doctorate, and then he was going to turn his uncle’s old ranch he’d inherited into an equine therapy center for autistic children. He’d been working toward the goal for years, and nothing and no one would derail him from it. When he met Kaya, he felt an immediate connection, but he couldn’t let it change his plans. Would Glen be able to make changes to the life plan he’d made for himself? Or would they both spend the rest of their lives aching for the love they lost?

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  Chapter One

  Kaya couldn’t quit fidgeting in her chair as she waited for their flight to be called. “I can’t believe we actually get to do this! Finally!”

  May grinned at her friend. “We’ve been online friends for what? Two or three years? I can’t believe the three of us have never gotten together before.”

  “Well, you and I have had our lunches, but we’ve never met Liz. I can’t believe we’re finally going to get to meet Liz! In my head, I always call her Lizard. Do you think she’d mind?”

  May rolled her eyes. “You call her that online half the time.”

  “That’s true. It might feel different in person though! I’m glad she’s going to pick us up at the airport. I don’t know if I could drive in the mountains!”

  May shook her head, grinning at the younger girl. Kaya was only twenty-three, but she’d been writing since college. May was a full ten years older and wiser. They’d become friends through a chat room on the internet where they both went to write. May had been a mentor for Kaya and had done a lot to help her launch her career.

  “We’ll be fine. Liz used to live there. I’m sure she’ll be fine driving.”

  “I can’t believe she’s willing to leave Jack while they’re still newlyweds. It’s craziness!”

  May shrugged. “She chose this time because Jack’s off on assignment. We have two weeks. Liz said she got us the best cabin on all of the ranch.”

  Kaya frowned. “I guess I don’t quite understand about this ranch. I know it’s some kind of a dude ranch, but it seems like so much more when Liz talks about it.”

  “I looked it up online,” May said, shaking her head. “It looks absolutely amazing. They do summer and winter sports. Lots of horseback riding. Four-wheelers. So many different things. I think we need to start doing this yearly.”

  Kaya nodded eagerly. Anything that would make it so she could spend time with two of her closest friends every year. Her real-life best friend had gone and gotten married on her, so she’d have to hope that wouldn’t happen anytime soon with May. Liz was married, but still seemed flexible. So many women acted like they were chained to their spouses when it came to travel. Kaya knew she’d never be that way.

  Kaya looked down at her boarding pass. May had made it very clear that she only flew first class, and since Kaya hadn’t wanted to sit alone in coach, she’d been willing to pay the extra for a first-class ticket. She wondered if it really was going to be as much better than coach as she’d heard. It had been a stretch for her to pay for a flight at all, but she’d worked hard and had finally started seeing some real success with her romances, so she refused to feel guilty for it. She’d only flown a couple of times in her life, and always within Texas, so she wanted this trip to be extra-special.

  Finally, their flight was called and the two friends walked toward the front. Kaya was taller than May, and slimmer. But May was absolutely perfect in Kaya’s eyes. She was one of the most giving people Kaya knew, and she hoped someday her friend would learn to get out a little more. She deserved the kind of love she wrote about in her novels.

  “Do you want the window or the aisle?” May asked as they stood in line with the other first-class passengers.

  “We don’t have to sit in the seats we’re assigned?”

  “Since we’re right next to each other, it won’t matter a lick either way.”

  “I’d rather have the window then. There’s just something special about flying. I love to soar through the clouds and watch as we take off and land.”

  May smiled, shaking her head. “You enjoy all that. I need to edit on the flight.”

  Kaya shrugged. She loved May dearly, but she was afraid her friend was working herself into an early death. She had no real-life friends as far as Kaya knew. She was alone more often than not. She knew she rarely left her house, unless she needed groceries or was having lunch with her aunt, who had raised her, and lived in a nearby town.

  Kaya and May lived about an hour and a half apart and every few months, Kaya would beg May to meet her in the middle for lunch.

  Once they were seated, Kaya put on her seat belt and wiggled around happily. “I have leg room! Me! The girl with the legs up to her neck!”

  May laughed. “You sound like something from a bad country song if you have legs up to your neck.”

  “You’re just jealous because you’re shorter than me and men don’t have to stand on tiptoe to kiss you.”

  May grinned. “Not terribly jealous. I’m not going to lie to you.”

  Kaya laughed. At over six feet tall, she was used to being taller than most of the men she met. She just went with it. She knew that someday, somehow, somewhere she’d meet the perfect man for her, and he wouldn’t care an ounce of spit how tall she was. He’d only care about what was on the inside. And his name would be Matt.

  May nudged her with her elbow. “You’re getting all goofy again.”

  Kaya blushed, sticking her tongue out at May. “Just thinking of the day when I meet my Matt. It’s going to happen you know. And you’ll meet yours.” She knew her friend would understand her need for a man named Matt. She put a Matt in every single one of her books as a hug to her fans.

  May rolled her eyes. “Unless I run into Bob Bodefeld somewhere, and he decides he’s magically in love with me, I don’t see that happening. He’s the perfect man in my eyes, and I’m honestly not su
re any other man would ever measure up.”

  Kaya sighed. “We’re going to be watching Lazy Love on Tuesday night, aren’t we?” She didn’t mind the show, but she wasn’t crazy over it the way May was.

  May shrugged. “Nah. I’ve seen the whole series, and I have this season DVRed. If this was a new episode, you can bet your sweet big toe, but since it’s not, I don’t think I’ll care much.” She sighed, propping her headrest differently to get more comfortable. “What do you think the chances are that we can convince Liz to live our hours for this trip?”

  “Nil. I brought some sleep aid so I can go to sleep by midnight or two like a normal person. Hopefully it’ll work.” Kaya and May worked together through the night almost every night. Neither was used to going to bed until well after sunrise.

  May sighed. “I do the same every time I travel. At least Liz understands our hours, whether she keeps them or not.”

  “I’m glad we have a few hours to write with her every night. We have each other the rest of the time. Do you really need more than me, May?” Kaya batted her eyelashes at her friend, who rolled her eyes.

  “You need serious help, Kaya.”

  Several hours later, they’d switched planes and finally arrived at the small airport in Lewiston. Kaya had watched the clouds through the whole flight, doing her best to stay quiet while May worked.

  As they got off the plane, Kaya let May lead, because she knew the other woman traveled a great deal more than she did. “How do you know where to go?” she asked as they went through the door that meant they were on the other side of security.

  May grinned. “I follow the crowd.”

  Kaya laughed. “It’s a good thing I’m a woman traveling with you and not a man. A man would have real issues with that method.”

  “You have a point.” May’s smile faded, and Kaya immediately knew why. For some reason, her friend was convinced she was fundamentally unlovable. Whether it was true or not, May believed it with everything inside her.

  They were almost to baggage claim when Kaya heard her name shouted. She grabbed May’s arm, and they turned to see Liz rushing toward them. Kaya spread her arms wide, embracing her friend. She thought about shouting, “Boobie bump,” as Dr. Lachele had taught her on the cruise ship, but since she was meeting Liz for the first time, she decided not to freak her out.

  Liz hugged May as well, grinning at them. Kaya wiped away a tear, not hiding it. She was an emotional mess, and she wasn’t even ashamed of it. Crying was good for the soul.

  “I can’t believe we’re all here together for the first time! This is unbelievable!” Kaya reached into her purse and pulled out her iPhone. “We need a selfie. We need to commemorate this moment and every moment of the whole retreat!”

  May shook her head, but smiled dutifully. They posed with Kaya in the middle, and she immediately tilted her head to one side to try to look shorter. In every picture with female friends she thought she looked like some sort of Amazon and the others looked like Lilliputians!

  Liz nodded to Kaya’s phone. “You’ll share all those with us, right? I don’t need to pull out my phone?”

  Kaya shook her head. “Nope. I’ll even take them to my mom so she can scrapbook them all. She’ll love me for it!”

  They grabbed their luggage and followed Liz out to the car. “You ride in the front. You know how freaked out I get in cars.” Kaya had been in a wreck a couple of years before, and though she could drive, she preferred not to—and it was so much easier to observe the others from the backseat. While Liz drove them out of Lewiston and onto a country highway, Kaya let her mind travel freely. She watched the green grass whiz by, staring in awe at the mountains. She’d only been out of Texas a couple of times in her life, most recently for her friend Jenni’s wedding on a cruise ship.

  Kaya heard the others talking, but paid little attention, too lost in her own thoughts. They’d have two weeks to talk and enjoy themselves. For now, she wanted to see this beautiful land Liz had told them about so many times.

  She noticed as the car slowed. “This is Riston. The sheriff here is married to my friend and former boss, Kelsi,” Liz explained.

  “Nice to have law-enforcement connections,” Kaya said with a grin.

  Liz laughed. “Nicer to have Weston connections. The Westons are an amazing family. They own the ranch. Get ready to be shocked.”

  “We’re staying on the ranch, right?” Kaya asked.

  Liz sighed. “You weren’t paying attention to me at all, were you?”

  Kaya blinked a couple of times. “Nope. Didn’t hear a word.”

  “I was just telling May that we’re renting the biggest cabin on the property. It has three bedrooms and two baths. It’s right on the lake. This one rents out months in advance, but there was a last-minute cancellation, and I was on a wait list. Dani called me when it came available, because she knew we wanted it.”

  “I can’t wait to see it!”

  “I got in last night, and I chose my room. They’re all about the same size, but I took the one with the private bath. You two can share, or one of you can use mine.”

  Kaya shrugged. “Yeah, no biggie either way. I’m just excited to be here.”

  “Are you hungry?” Liz asked. “I figured we’d go grocery shopping this evening, or tomorrow if you’re too tired, but you guys may want to settle in first. We can stop at the café, and I can show you where I used to work.”

  Kaya thought about it. There had been snacks on both flights but no real meals. “Yeah, I think I’m hungry. May?”

  “I am. Let’s eat,” May responded, looking around as they went through a huge gate and parked in front of a small café.

  “We’re already on the ranch, right?” Kaya asked. She could see a café, and a lot of open space. There were buildings back behind the parking lot as well. “I’m going to want to get out and explore. Maybe walk around the ranch some.”

  Liz nodded. “You have to while you’re here. This place is so amazing. You can explore on foot, horseback or even four-wheeler. Either way, you’re going to love it!”

  Kaya grinned happily. “I can’t wait. If I get stuck while I’m writing, walking through the woods, being near a mountain, being on water…those are the things that fix me. Two weeks of being in my perfect writing environment. I’m going to write six books!”

  “You’ll do well to finish the one you’re working on!” May said with a laugh. “I know you. You’re going to want to spend time outside. You’re going to want to chat with us while we’re together. There’s no way you’re going to get a ton done.”

  Kaya made a face at May as the three of them walked toward the café. “What’s good here?”

  “Everything. There’s a new cook, and he’s amazing! Whatever he has on special is worth eating.”

  Liz waved at a blonde who obviously worked there, leading Kaya and May to a booth off to one side of the room. Once the three of them were seated, with May on one side and Kaya and Liz on the other, the blonde joined them.

  “Hi, you must be Liz’s writerly friends! She told me about you guys. Who is who?”

  “I’m Kaya, and that’s May!” Kaya knew May would prefer not to have to talk to strangers if she could avoid it.

  “I’m Kelsi. If Liz told you horror stories about me, they were lies! If she said nice things, they’re all true of course!”

  Liz grinned at her friend. “I’ll never tell.”

  Kelsi laughed, the sound filling the café. “Bob’s special today is an open-faced roast beef sandwich with mashed potatoes on the side. And a piece of his garlic bread. You wouldn’t think garlic bread would go with that, but it does! Oh my, I love it! So does little Shania.”

  Liz grimaced. “Shania?”

  Kelsi shrugged. “I figured we’d name it Shawn if it’s a boy and Shania if it’s a girl.” She turned to her side and happily stroked her stomach. “Do I look pregnant yet?”

  “It’s like you swallowed a watermelon or something!” Kaya lied. She c
ould barely tell the girl was showing, but it was obviously not what she needed to hear.

  “You think?” Kelsi’s face lit up at the thought. “I never even knew I wanted to be a mother, and now it’s all I can think about! I’m having a baby!” She smiled happily. “I’ll be back in five to take your orders.”

  Kaya watched Kelsi all but skip away. “I’ve never seen anyone so happy to be told she looked big.”

  “Kelsi is just happy. She doesn’t rely on people around her to be upbeat, but there’s something within that just makes it happen. She kind of reminds me of you sometimes,” Liz said.

  “Me?” Kaya was surprised. “I’ll take that as a compliment, but I’m not sure it’s one I deserve.”

  “You find the good side of everything,” Liz said with a grin, squeezing Kaya’s hand. “I feel privileged to have you two as friends.”

  There was a squeal and a waitress dressed all in pink ran across the café and threw herself at Liz. “I heard you were here for a couple of days! I’m so glad to see you!”

  “Me too!” Liz turned to the others. “These are my friends May and Kaya. And this is Joni, my best friend and former roommate.”

  Kaya grinned. “So good to meet you, Joni. We’re her imaginary friends who live inside her computer!”

  Joni smiled. “I’ve heard a lot about you imaginary friends. I hope you love the ranch as much as we do.” She hugged Liz once more. “We’d better find some time to sit down and talk while you’re here.”

  “We’ll meet for breakfast one morning,” Liz said. “Those two are night owls.”

  “Works for me! I have to get to work! Kelsi’s giving me the stink eye.” With that, Joni rushed off, walking to her boss and talking to her softly as she tied on an apron over her pink polyester uniform.

  Kaya’s eyes were drawn to the door as the bell over it rang. A tall man dressed in jeans and a plaid button up shirt walked in, going straight to one of the stools at the counter. He had dark hair and eyes, and Kaya wanted to run her hands over his broad shoulders. “Who’s the dreamy cowboy? Please tell me his name is Matt!” Her voice was soft and a little breathless.