Whitewater Wooing (River's End Ranch Book 4)

by Caroline Lee

  “You two can’t go even a few hours without each other?”

  “Kelsi,” he began in mock seriousness. “Our Sunday night dinners are about family.” He saw a reluctant smile pulling at her lips. “And I can’t leave part of my family at home, can I?”

  When she began to giggle, he smiled too. Family. It was the most important thing in the world to him, even if they drove him completely bananas sometimes. But he was willing to do just about anything for his family, and his place in it. Including hiring a complete stranger to do the job he couldn’t manage.

  Starting tomorrow.

  Wow. Idaho was a lot prettier than she’d thought. I mean, Idaho. That’s practically Canada, and to a girl raised in the South Carolina Lowcountry, Canada might as well be the ice planet Hoth, right? But gosh, the landscapes she’d seen as the small plane had flown northward were gorgeous; all distant snow-capped peaks and rushing streams and stretches of fir trees and bucolic clumps of cattle in the meadows. Surely someplace like this couldn’t actually be real? Ellie felt like she was flying over a movie set.

  Frank, the pilot of the little Cessna, had been chatty, and Ellie had been able to ask as many questions as she wanted over her headset. He’d wanted to tell her about the history, but all of Ellie’s questions had been about the landscape; what kind of trees are those? What’s the name of those mountains? What’s the biggest town up here? He hadn’t laughed at her, but she could hear the smile in his voice as he answered.

  It wasn’t until he was setting down on a small airstrip that reality really sank in. She was going to be here an entire month. An entire month stuck way up in the panhandle of Idaho, which might as well be a foreign country to someone used to saltwater swamps and ‘gators. But even the Lowcountry was a long time ago for Ellie; after the last four years in Los Angeles and three years in college up in Philly, she was more used to skyscrapers than mountains.

  However, she had to admit that she was looking forward to meeting some real cowboys. Her coworkers back at the Ritz had teased her, talking about how Idaho must surely be overrun with hot guys in jeans and boots. So far, she’d seen some at the airport in Boise that she wouldn’t mind looking at further. And Frank looked and sounded exactly the way she’d always assumed a cowboy would, down to his charming manners.

  No, ma’am! She definitely wouldn’t mind a full four weeks of cowboys, even if it did mean being stuck in Idaho.

  When the plane’s rotate-y things stopped spinning and Frank opened the little door to help her climb out, Ellie got her first real taste of Idaho. The fresh air was almost heady, full of pine and woodsmoke and scents she couldn’t even begin to recognize. When Frank rolled her bag over to her, she considered asking him, but then her brain momentarily stopped working.

  Strolling toward them was a man who looked more at home in Southern California than an Idaho ranch, but she discovered that she didn’t mind one bit. His dirty-blonde hair was a little too shaggy to be stylish, and he wore a pair of dark board shorts, a plain white tee-shirt, and flip-flops. Pretty much the exact opposite of a cowboy, but one she wouldn’t mind looking at for a while, either. Loping along at his side was a beautiful black-and-white collie, which he’d occasionally say something to, judging from his hand gestures.

  Maybe she’d been standing there with her mouth open at the surprisingly handsome man, but she quickly snapped back to herself when Frank cleared his throat. “Looks like your welcome committee has arrived, miss.”

  Him? He was the one who’d been sent to pick her up? Across the airfield, she saw a dirty pick-up truck, and had to guess that this good-looking not-a-cowboy was a member of the aquatics staff. If so, then she’d been hired to straighten him out, not gawk at him like a horny teenager. So she straightened her shoulders, hefted her carry-on bag a little higher, and got ready to introduce herself when he got close enough.

  But he beat her to it. “Hey, Frank!” he called when he was still a distance away. “Who else you got on board? ‘Morning, ma’am, welcome to River’s End Ranch.” He dipped his chin respectfully when he welcomed her, but she could tell that his attention was on the plane behind her.

  Thank goodness, because her knees had gone weak. Had she thought him handsome before, just talking to his dog? Well, when he smiled the whole world seemed to center on him. He had blue eyes about four shades lighter than her own, which reminded her of the froth on top of the southern California waves. Suddenly the sun was just a little too bright; surely that explained Ellie’s almost overwhelming need to sit down.

  “Howdy, Will. Nope, no one else on board. You expecting someone?”

  A brief look of panic crossed that gorgeous face before fading to a look of chagrin. “Yeah, but maybe I got confused about his flight times. Nine p.m., maybe? My phone’s charging in the truck. I can drop him a message.”

  Frank shrugged, and just as soon as Ellie could find her voice, she’d ask if she could hitch a ride to the main ranch buildings. “Sorry. I only had the one passenger today.” He waved his clipboard. “Elliot Redfern. Says so right here.”

  “Yeah, that’s who I’m waiting on.”

  And that’s when Ellie understood, and closed her eyes on a little groan. Thanks a lot, Muz and Dad. It definitely wasn’t the first time she’d been completely embarrassed by the quintessentially Southern habit of giving daughters last names as first names.

  Only one thing to do. She readjusted her shoulder bag, took a fortifying breath, and stepped forward. “I’m Elliot Redfern.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  Once, when he was sixteen, Will had gone overboard and stupidly tried to stand up against the river’s spring flood. He’d gotten his ankle twisted under a rock, and then a thick branch that was being swept downriver had smacked him in the chest and held him under until Wade had pulled his sorry hide back into the boat. Will had never forgotten the feeling of having absolutely every bit of air forced from his lungs, as the crushing pressure of the river caused a burning ache in his chest.

  He felt that way right now.

  “You’re Elliot Redfern?” Shoot, why’d he have to sound so…incredulous? Judging from the way her gorgeous blue eyes narrowed, his tone had ticked her off royally. But he hadn’t been able to help it; whatever he’d been expecting when he’d read her resume, it sure wasn’t some leggy blonde goddess. She had long hair, done in one of those hairstyles he’d seen actresses wearing; big curls around her shoulders that didn’t look real. She had red lipstick, a black business skirt and some kind of silky red top…and black heels that made her almost as tall as he was.

  Yeah, he’d noticed her from across the airfield, and hadn’t minded noticing her. Not at all. But whoever she was, she didn’t look like someone who belonged on River’s End Ranch. In fact, aside from the name across the top of the resume, she looked exactly like someone who’d spent the last four years working her way up from banquets staff to Events Manager at a swanky LA hotel. Someone who was taking a new job in two months, and looking for a little R&R this summer as a break. Someone who was ideal for the position Will needed to fill.

  The problem was, that now that he’d seen her, he was thinking about all sorts of other positions he wouldn’t mind her filling. His dinner date, for one.

  Unfortunately, he hadn’t really started with the best of impressions. “I was invited to River’s End Ranch for temporary employment, Mister…?”

  Will snorted at his own bad manners. “Sorry. I’m Will Weston.” He stuck out his hand in welcome, and was relieved when she only hesitated for a moment before taking it. Her handshake was firm, but her palms were soft, and Will felt something sorta tingly climbing up his arm, even after the touch ended. He figured he’d have to think on that.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Weston. Thank you for picking me up.”

  He tried his best smile. “No worries, Miss Redfern. Let’s get your stuff into the truck so Frank can fuel up.”

  The older man had been studying his clipboard with just a touch too much interes
t, but now flashed a relieved grin at the two of them and tipped his hat to Miss Redfern. “Enjoy your stay at River’s End Ranch, ma’am.”

  Will lifted her small suitcase, whistled to Indy, and the trio set out across the grass towards his truck. He noticed that she was walking funny, and realized her pointy heels were sinking into the earth. Finally, muttering under her breath, she stopped. He stopped too, mainly out of surprise when she placed her hand on his forearm and leaned into him to peel off her shoes.

  Again, something shot up his arm at her touch, but he was more surprised at the way she sighed and settled her bare toes into the grass. Her toenails were painted bright pink with zebra stripes on the biggest one, he couldn’t help noticing, and didn’t look like the sort of toes that belonged to a sophisticated Los Angeles workaholic. Of course, he couldn’t imagine one of them strolling barefoot across the landing field either, and yet here she was.

  He lowered the tailgate to let Indy hop up into the bed, and then carefully wedged Miss Redfern’ black Samsonite against the wheel well. By the time he thought to open the door for her, she’d already done it herself and climbed inside, her heels dangling from two fingers.

  Shrugging, Will joined her, cranking up the AC and turning down the Oldies station he’d been enjoying.

  “Listen—”

  “I’m sorry—”

  They both stopped when they realized that the other was speaking, and then both started again with “You go fir—”

  When they bit off their words a second time, Will noticed that she was trying to hold back a smile. “You go ahead, Miss Redfern.”

  “Call me Ellie, please. Everyone does.” She sighed. “And I’m sorry about the miscommunication. I forget sometimes, what happens when people see my name for the first time.”

  They were driving along the river towards the boathouse, and Will found himself slowing down so that she could appreciate the view. “And I’m sorry for my reaction. It’s just that when I read ‘Elliot’, I expected someone…”

  “A little more nerdy?”

  He chuckled. “Well, a little more mannish, frankly. You were a…surprise.” A welcome surprise, but he didn’t want to sound like he was hitting on her.

  Her laugh was as much a surprise as the rest of her; low and throaty. Will liked it. “Elliot was my mother’s maiden name. It’s a tradition down South to give those kinds of names to daughters. My sister’s name is Lloyd, if you can believe it, but she goes by Dink.”

  Elliot was bad enough, but Lloyd? “I thought you were from California?”

  He watched from the corner of his eye as she tucked one of those thick, unrealistic curls back behind her ear. “I’m from South Carolina originally. I lived in LA for four years for work, and—” Whatever she’d been about to say was cut off by a gasp as they came to Will’s favorite bend in the river. There was a reason the road from the airfield passed by here; new guests never failed to be dazzled by the view of the rapids, the soaring mountains, and the distant lake. “Oh my gosh, it’s beautiful!”

  As always, his heart swelled a little to hear a stranger’s reaction to the beauty that Will loved so much, but this time there was something more. There was something about this woman, this sophisticated LA beauty—that made him want to impress her. And just about all he had to impress her with was the one thing—beside his family and Indy—that really mattered to him; the ranch.

  “Yeah,” he drawled, making sure to cruise past the bend a little slower than usual. “It sure is. This is my favorite part of the whole place. I grew up on this river, and I love how it’s always changing.”

  “Isn’t that dangerous?”

  He shrugged, ignoring Indy’s happy barking from the truck bed when she saw Zack and Soap on tiny rafts, far below. “It isn’t if you learn her, know what to expect.”

  “Are we still talking about the river, here?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Still, he grinned. “She can be dangerous, but as long as you respect her power, and have a good idea of how she’ll react to hidden obstacles, you’ll have a smooth ride.”

  Maybe he’d taken the extended metaphor a bit too far, because she raised a brow and pursed her lips. He liked to think that she was trying not to smile again. “It’s good to know that you understand ladies, Mr. Weston.”

  “Will, please.”

  “Alright, Will. I admire the way you respect your women—I mean, your river.”

  He gave in and laughed then, and was rewarded with a smile from her. She was even more beautiful when she smiled, when her cheeks bunched up to crinkle her eyes. Things could’ve gotten dangerous, but a bark from Indy snapped Will’s eyes back to the road, and he only had to swerve slightly.

  It was hard to keep his attention on the task at hand, but he managed to drive by the boathouse, the lake house, and even the pool without getting too distracted by the gorgeous woman sitting beside him. She asked him all sorts of intelligent, pointed questions about the way the place was run. And he managed not to sound like a complete idiot while he answered them.

  Which was good, because the last thing he wanted was for Miss Ellie Redfern to think less of him.

  “Let me get this straight.” Ellie stood on the dock by the boathouse, her hands at her waist, the wooden planks cool against her bare feet, and looked over the wide lake. “This facility is the ending point for the white-water rafting tours, as well as the rental location for the canoes and kayaks?”

  “Yep.” She tried to ignore how good Will Weston smelled, standing so close beside her. It was necessary, with this particular part of the dock being so narrow, and she had to admit that she didn’t really mind his nearness. “We keep the extra rafts here ‘til the end of the day, and then ferry them back up the river to the put-in location for the next day’s tours.”

  There were two of the heavy inflatable rafts tied up to the dock, so Ellie assumed there’d already been one tour completed. She remembered seeing two boats on the river as they passed that gorgeous view, so she assumed two more would be docked soon. “And the staff?”

  “Zack and Soap are both good guys. They’re leading the mid-day tour right now.”

  “So how do you handle rentals for the canoes and whatnot?”

  For the first time, Will looked uncomfortable. He ran his hand through his wonderfully shaggy hair. “Usually the third man out is here, handling things from this end, but I put up a ‘closed’ notice for the day, so I could give you the tour.”

  Ellie frowned, but not out of guilt. “That seems…inefficient. Who is helping the two of them—Zack and Soap, you said?—up at the launch point? Couldn’t one of them drive back here to man the rentals?” She’d been white-water rafting a few times in West Virginia, and as she remembered it, getting the boats off the busses and into the water was at least a four-person task.

  But Will just shrugged. “It’s only the three of us. We manage well enough.” Was it her imagination, or did he sound a little defensive?

  She wasn’t willing to let the subject drop, however. She needed to know what she was up against, if she had to straighten this program out in the coming weeks. “And when one of you is sick, or can’t make work? Do you have backups?”

  “Then the tours just don’t run that day.”

  “The tours just don’t…?” It was ridiculous. Suddenly, the view didn’t matter as much, and Ellie turned to Will. “So you’re saying that you just shut down?”

  He tried to shove his hands in his pockets, and then looked like he remembered he was wearing trunks. Instead, Will stepped back and pretended interest in one of the inflatables. “Look, it’s worked okay so far, hasn’t it?”

  “Well… no.” Ellie tried to gentle her tone. “That’s why you hired me, after all. “ From what she’d seen, some of the aquatics programs’ issues could be solved just by hiring some extra staff. “Are Zack and Soap fulltime employees? What do they do in the winter?”

  “Snowboard instructors, mainly, although they fill in wherever Wade needs them to.�
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  “Who’s Wade?” She followed him off the dock back towards the truck.

  “My oldest brother. He’s sort of in charge of the whole place, staffing, money, whatever.” When Will shrugged, she got the impression he didn’t really know what his brother did at River’s End Ranch, and didn’t really care. “He’s always bugging me about spreadsheets, I know that much.”

  Well, obviously. Will Weston might be good-looking, but it was becoming quite clear that he didn’t know much about personnel management. “Your oldest brother?” was the only question she asked, though.

  “There’s four Weston brothers altogether—Wade, Wyatt is in charge of stables, but don’t ask him anything, because he won’t answer; Wes handles anything involving the mountains, and me.” This time, she waited until he opened the door to his truck for her, and offered him a little smile of thanks. Instead of closing it, though, he leaned a hip against the open door, and kept up his explanation. “Our cousin Jess came to live with us years ago, so she’s an honorary sibling. Then Dani and Kelsi, the twins. Kelsi manages the café.”

  Ellie noticed the way his gorgeous ice-blue eyes softened slightly when he mentioned his sisters. “The one that’s named after her?”

  “Nah, Kelsey’s Kafe is named after our grandma, who talked Gramps into turning the family ranch into a tourist destination back in the ‘50s. Kelsi was named after her, though.” He smiled, not really looking at Ellie. “She was an amazing old lady.”

  Ellie propped her elbow on her knee and rested her chin on her palm. “She sounds like it.” The Weston family history had absolutely nothing to do with her ability to do the job she was hired to do, but she couldn’t help being fascinated by it, nonetheless. Maybe because her teacher was so darn good-looking. “And your other sister?”

  “Dani might look like Kelsi, but they’re pretty much opposites. I’m sure you’ll meet her eventually. She’s part of the local search-and-rescue teams, which get pretty serious now that hiking season has really started up again.”