(3 Book Box Set) "Romancing The Bull Rider" & "Craved by The Cowboy" & "Cruise Away with Him"

  Chapter Two

  In Boredom We Trust

  The shock wore off quickly, and boredom set in. Kristin couldn’t force herself to continue down a path filled with manicures, facials, and bubble baths. The euphoria most people felt in those treatments only reminded Kristin that she was jobless, hopeless, and had been used. With the boredom came the anger. Rather than getting her just desserts for all the diligent work she’d put in, all the creativity she’d shared, Kristin had been jilted out of her promotion, as well as the prestige of sharing the products of her mind.

  And it hadn’t stopped there. She’d been shunted, her entire livelihood stolen, and she had no prospects for the future. Well, that wasn’t exactly true. Morrow-Waves was a big company, and their only true rival was Everett Sales & Advertising. Everett had approached her at least five times over the past three years with a proposal of their own, but in her stupid morals, Kristin had clung to her loyalty with Morrow-Waves. They’d given her a start, and she’d advanced quickly there, breaking records for women in the company. She’d thought it would be a lifelong career, that she’d retire from the company.

  Dream on. There was no such thing as loyalty and job security in the workplace anymore. It was cutthroat, dog-eat-dog, and ‘fair’ didn’t even make it into the Dictionary of Business Practices these days. It actually felt good to turn on her personal laptop and find the last recruiting email she’d received from Everett S&A and forward her resume back with an inquiry as to whether or not there was still an open position with their company. If she was lucky, she could recover most of her salary and a bit of her pride by getting a position that would eventually lead her back to the role of director.

  But what was she going to do in the meantime? Kristin couldn’t sit here and twiddle her thumbs, couldn’t just read or watch television. It wasn’t her style. And she wasn’t ready to dive in and search for a new career right now. She’d start making inquiries with other firms when she was done fuming about her current position.

  She slammed the laptop closed and folded her arms in frustration. The movement scattered papers on the desk, and something heavy floated to the floor. Scowling down at it, she saw the brochure LeAnn had given her. Prescott’s ‘Slanted’ P Ranch. Kristin snorted. She hadn’t even visited her parents’ land in nearly three years, preferring to work with her family for a neutral meeting ground halfway between for holidays. Last year, she’d booked them rooms at a resort in Nashville, and they’d had a ‘Grand Ole Opry Christmas’. She’d been thinking about Boulder this year; she hadn’t been skiing for nearly a decade.

  She reached down and picked up the brochure, flipping the pages and frowning. It looked pretty legit, which meant she’d actually be on horseback again, mucking out stalls, and other nonsense. It might be refreshing, and it wasn’t like she had anything else to fill her time. Of course, with the layoff, she couldn’t guarantee she could afford to spend money on a vacation. Certainly, she’d land another job easily, between credentials, experience, and reputation.

  Still, she couldn’t stand the idea of being in her apartment, no matter how swanky, for the next several weeks. She needed a break. At this point, her lack of work was causing as much stress as her penchant for being a workaholic, and she remembered LeAnn’s admonishment about taking time to live her life. It irked Kristin that she was buying into that, considering her complete focus should be on maintaining her career before she lost her edge.

  At the same time, if she took this trip, she’d likely be so glad to come back and get her hands dirty that she’d dive into the application and interview process. She carried the brochure to the kitchen, phone in her other hand, as she searched the packages and prices. Everything seemed reasonable; the cost wasn’t extravagant, and the accommodations weren’t stalls in the stables or anything.

  She put everything on the counter, poured herself a cup of coffee, and bit her lip. Maybe some manual labor would give her enough focus to clear her mind, sort of like meditation, and she could start fresh when she came back. Before she could change her mind, she speed-dialed LeAnn, who answered on the first ring. “Hey, you, how are you? I was worried when you didn’t call, and I was about to come by and see if you were still alive or if you’d given yourself a heart attack.”

  Feeling the familiar rise of her anger, Kristin took several deep breaths as she prepared to hit her best friend with the news. “I got laid off. Oh, they kept my proposal and I hear they landed the account, but I’m toast.”

  “No way! What bullshit!” LeAnn was truly offended for her, and that was one of the things Kristin truly appreciated about her friend. They felt each other’s pain, and they had each other’s backs. “Are you applying elsewhere?”

  “I have a couple of prospects,” she said vaguely. “Listen, LeAnn, I was calling because…is it too late to take you up on that ranch vacation? I think I need a change of scenery for a few days.”

  “Seriously? You’re coming?” LeAnn sounded like a tea kettle simmering and ready to let out the ear-piercing sound as it boiled. “Oh, please tell me you’re not joking!”

  Blowing out a breath aimed at removing a strand of hair from her eyes, Kristin told her, “I don’t want to spend forever there. I have a limit, especially since I have to get back on top of finding a job and a way to afford to have a life. But I think a week on a ranch might clear my head in this early-life crisis I’ve hit.” That’s really how it felt. She was being forced into completely reconfiguring her life with this whole job change. She just hoped a vacation would make the transition a little easier.

  “Give me ten days. That’s really a week, with an extra weekend. The ten-day package is only a hundred more than the week package, and the flights are actually cheaper because of the days we’d fly, so it offsets the difference. Plus, we don’t get to do the river rafting if we only go for a week.” LeAnn was talking a mile a minute, and it made Kristin’s head spin. “I promise you won’t regret it, and we’ll have a blast. Come on, we haven’t done anything like this before, and even if you grew up on a ranch, I bet this will be a completely different experience.”

  Doubtful. “Fine. But I better not get a wakeup call at four in the morning to milk the damn cows. That was the one chore I hated because it was far too early, and I never managed to go back to sleep afterward.”

  “Oh my god! Okay, I’m going to schedule your flight and book your stay. Just write me a check or something, and you can give it to me when we get to the airport.” LeAnn went silent, which usually signaled a question. Kristin could almost hear the rusted wheels turning in LeAnn’s head. “Wait, what’s the weather going to be like in San Antonio in two weeks? I want to pack accordingly.”

  Kristin smirked. “Hot. And hotter. But you don’t want shorts for horseback riding and ranch activities, so jeans, and not the designer kind. Short sleeves are best, and no sandals or heels, LeAnn,” she added with a warning tone. She knew LeAnn far too well and would have been mortified to show up with someone in flip-flops and cut-offs to a working ranch.

  “You got it! I’m going shopping. I’ll text you all the details.” LeAnn hung up, and Kristin was left standing in the kitchen, shaking her head. Taking a deep breath, Kristin realized she’d probably need to buy a couple of things for the trip as well.