Honest Horseman (River's End Ranch Book 5)

by Cindy Caldwell

  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 via 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 could 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 gi
ving 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?” she asked Liz, her voice soft.

  “Dreamy cowboy?” Liz looked around. “Oh, that’s just Glen. He works in the stable with Wyatt.”

  “He’s…wow, I’m a writer and I have no words. I need to meet him. I want to marry him and have his babies.”

  Liz blinked at her friend a few times. “I think you’ve been reading and writing too many romance novels, Kaya. He’s a cowboy. Get close to him, and he’s going to smell like sweat and horse manure.”

  “Right at the moment, I don’t even care. Please introduce me!”

  Liz watched and as soon as Kelsi stopped talking to Glen she called his name. “Hey, Glen!”

  Glen turned on his chair and smiled, raising a finger in greeting. He was a man of few words, like his boss, but not quite as bad. He talked to people he liked, unlike Wyatt Weston. “Hi, Liz.”

  “Come meet my friends.” When Glen got to the table, he touched the brim of his cowboy hat, nodding at Kaya and May in turn. “These are my friends Kaya and May. They’re both writers as well.”

  Glen smiled. He wasn’t into books unless they were nonfiction. He was working on his doctoral thesis while working for the River’s End Ranch as an assistant to the resident horse whisperer, Wyatt Weston. When he was finished, he hoped to open an equine therapy center to help kids with autism. He was only a few months from getting his PhD.

  “It’s nice to meet you both. What do you write?”

  “We both write romance,” Kaya said. “May’s huge, but I’m just small potatoes.”

  May shook her head. “I’m not huge. I promise unless you read romantic comedy, you’ve never heard of me.”

  “I have a feeling I’ve never heard of you then.” Glen smiled then, a huge smile that transformed his whole face, and Kaya felt something hit her like a punch in the gut.

  “You should pose for romance covers,” Kaya blurted out without meaning to. She couldn’t believe how attracted she was to the man in front of her.

  Glen laughed softly. “I don’t think so. Have you seen Friends?” When Kaya nodded, he continued. “Do you remember the episode where Chandler and Monica were taking engagement pictures?”

  Kaya nodded again. “Yeah. That one was hilarious. Chandler kept making this really scary face every time a camera was on him, but he would smile at her normally when the camera wasn’t pointed at him.”

  “That’s me. Point a camera at me, and I turn into Chandler Bing.”

  Kaya laughed. “So maybe being a romance model isn’t a good idea for you…”

  “Probably not.” Glen looked at the girl sitting beside Liz. She looked so animated and full of life. In a way she reminded him of Kelsi, but he felt brotherly toward Kelsi. The feelings that were rumbling around in his stomach when he looked at Kaya were definitely not something a brother would feel toward a sister.

  “So what do you do here?” Kaya asked, needing to know how to find him. Sure, she could ask Liz, but it was better to ask him.

  “I work in the stables with Wyatt. I teach people to ride, groom, exercise and feed the horses. Basically, if it has to do with horses, I do it. I’ve even been known to help them give birth if the doc can’t make it out right away.”

  “Well, maybe I’ll make it out to the stable one day this week. I’d like to learn to ride. Do I need to make an appointment for that?”

  Glen tilted his head to one side. “Yeah, it’s best if you do. Especially if you want a specific person to teach you.”

  “Well, then I’ll make an appointment. I have a feeling I’d feel more comfortable with you teaching me. You’re the only one I’ve met.”

  He nodded, smiling a little, turning when he heard Kelsi call his name. “My lunch is ready.” He touched the brim of his hat once more. “It was nice meeting you ladies.”

  Kaya watched him walk away, her eyes on his bottom. “I’d always heard that cowboys had the best butts, but I didn’t believe it until today,” she whispered to the other two.

  May covered her mouth with one hand to keep from laughing. Liz just shook her head. “I knew spending two weeks with you was going to be interesting, but until this very moment, I had no idea how interesting.”

  “You love me, and you know it.” Kaya sighed happily. “I get to spend two weeks with my favorite two imaginary people and fall in love all at once. This is going to be the best two weeks of my whole entire life!”

  Also by Cindy Caldwell

  Wild West Frontier Brides Series

  The Chef’s Mail Order Bride (1)

  The Wrangler’s Mail Order Bride (2)

  The Bartender’s Mail Order Bride (3)

  The Teacher’s Mail Order Bride (4)

  The Blacksmith’s Mail Order Bride (5)

  Brides of Archer Ranch

  Saffron: Bride of Archer Ranch (1)

  Carol: Bride of Archer Ranch (2)

  The following Cindy Caldwell books are part of the unprecedented, 50-author American Mail Order Brides series.

  50 days, 50 books, 50 states.

  Michelle, Bride of Mississippi

  Josephine, Bride of Louisiana

  Download a free copy of Michelle, Bride of Mississippi here:

  Michelle, Bride of Mississippi

  This book has gone through numerous proofreaders, professional and otherwise . If you find any typos or grammatical errors, I’d love to hear about them. I want this to be the best it can be. Please let me know at:

  cindy@cindycaldwellauthor.com

  If you’re a big fan of Western Historical Romance, you might like to join the Pioneer Hearts Facebook Group for interesting facts, great authors and a truly friendly community where everyone loves Westerns!

  https://www.facebook.com/groups/pioneerhearts/

  Please feel free to contact the author with any questions at:

  cindy@cindycaldwellauthor.com

  Honest Horseman is a work of fiction. Characters and events in this novel are the product of the author’s imagination. Any similarity to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.