Page 48 of Last Chance for Her Rancher Boss

So yeah, the more time that passed, the more she realized that she needed him in her life, maybe more than ever. The problem was that the more time that passed it was becoming harder and harder to reach out, to smooth things over and try and fix it all over again. She was scared; there was no use in denying it. Maybe she was just a coward, and maybe she was an emotionally unavailable workaholic. Maybe she was both. Probably both.

Meg crept back out of her room towards noon, mentally exhausted from turning over everything in her head all morning. She needed lunch, and if that involved pasta, bread or potatoes, even better. Her dad joined her, quiet as always but seemingly happy just to spend some time with her. It didn’t help Meg’s mood, thinking about how her mom must have told him about their talk. Hurting either of her parents hadn’t been her intention.

“I have made a decision,” Rebecca said, entering the room and making her announcement with fanfare.

Both Meg and Vic looked up from what they were doing and blinked at her before shooting a glance at each other. Vic just shrugged because apparently, he had no idea what was happening either. Meg couldn’t help herself and took the bait.

“A decision?” she asked, feeling like she was poking a beehive with a stick.

“Yes. We are going to go on a girls’ trip together.” Rebecca nodded like she was adding a full stop to her sentence.

“Oh, okay,” Meg said, trying to inject as much enthusiasm as she could muster into her voice. Not that she thought it was a bad idea; it was just a little out of left field, was all. But after last night, the last thing Meg wanted to do was reject an olive branch that was extended towards her.

“When are we going to do that?” she asked while her dad watched on, silent and amused.

“Today,” Rebecca said, with another nod of her head.

“Today?”

“This afternoon, to be more precise.”

“That’s… sudden.”

“You need a pick-me-up,” her mom said, smoothing her already smooth hair. “And there’s no better pick-me-up than a girls’ trip. It will be good for the both of us. Work has been simplytiresomethis past month.”

“Well, I’m sorry to hear that, Mom. So a getaway, okay. But, uh, where are we going?”

“Think of it as a surprise. I’ve sorted the whole thing,” she said with a flap of her hand. “I’ll drive. You don’t have to worry about a thing. Check-in is at two. Pack your bag, and we’ll head off.”

“I only have work clothes. Farm clothes. I don’t have anything nice with me, Mom.”

“Nonsense. I saw that lovely dress in the laundry yesterday. It’s all ironed and hanging up for you. No need to thank me.”

“Okay…”

Without further ado, Rebecca flounced out of the room, presumably to go and pack her own bag for their trip. Meg and her dad shared another look. He seemed just as clueless as she was.

“She’s in a good mood,” he said dryly. “I guess you’re going on a vacation?”

“I guess so,” said Meg. “And I guess I’m wearing that dress. I can’t believe she ironed it…”

“I don’t think I’ve seen her use an iron in twenty years. So, yes, dear, I think you should wear the dress.”

“I’ll eat before I change, then,” Meg said, determined to at least finish her lunch before her mother could spirit her away to God knew where.

CHAPTER 18

NASH

The retreat had officially been open for less than a day, and already there was a booking. Nash had nearly fallen over when the notification came through: two guests staying overnight in the smallest building. Paying for that half-page spread in the newspaper had been worth it, apparently.

It would have been nice to feel the relief that all of this was working out. But Nash was honestly just way too nervous to feel anything other than slightly sick. He did a final tidy-up of the building that the first guests would be staying in, making sure that they would have everything they needed. It didn’t take too long, and soon he was left with nothing to do but wander around the ranch, trying to distract himself.

The horses were out in the pasture grazing, and the sun was a white dot in a sky blue as the sea. The foal would periodically sprint around, testing out its legs, before running back to the safety of its mother. Opal was already a naughty thing, though, sticking her nose in places that were going to get her into trouble.

Other than a nosy foal, the ranch looked stupidly idyllic, like a picture book or something. He hoped it would all make a good first impression on his very first guests. Word of mouth was the best form of advertising, after all. If these first guests had a great time, if they told even one other person, that would be the boost this place needed to really get going.

Please just let this work. The thought ran around his head on a loop, driving him half insane with the repetition.

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