When You Love a Rancher: Ranchers Only Series

  When You Love a Rancher

  Ranchers Only Series

  Elle Christensen

  When You Love a Rancher

  Copyright © 2020 by Elle Christensen

  All Editions

  Edited by Editing For Indies

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information and retrieval system without express written permission from the Author/Publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  The Author acknowledges the trademark status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication’s use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owner.

  All rights reserved.

  .

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Maddie

  Chapter 2

  Kyle

  Chapter 3

  Maddie

  Chapter 4

  Kyle

  Chapter 5

  Kyle

  Chapter 6

  Maddie

  Chapter 7

  Kyle

  Chapter 8

  Maddie

  Chapter 9

  Kyle

  Chapter 10

  Kyle

  Chapter 11

  Maddie

  Chapter 12

  Kyle

  Chapter 13

  Kyle

  Chapter 14

  Maddie

  Chapter 15

  Maddie

  Chapter 16

  Maddie

  Chapter 17

  Kyle

  Epilogue 1

  Epilogue 2

  Also by Elle Christensen

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  For the cowboy lovers. Here’s to hot guys in boots and Stetsons!

  1

  Maddie

  I stared at my phone and chewed on my bottom lip, trying to decide how to answer the text staring back at me.

  Kyle: I’m in need of a steak before I go to veterinary school and am no longer able to eat food with a face. You up for dinner at Jensen’s?

  I’d almost answered immediately with a “Yes!” but then I remembered I already had dinner plans with Sam, my current boyfriend. He’d said he had something important to discuss with me, and if I blew him off for my best friend one more time, I was pretty sure I’d be kissing this relationship goodbye. The dilemma here was whether I cared about saving it.

  I was twenty-two years old and about to graduate from college. The past four years exhibited a terrible track record when it came to boyfriends. Something my sister, Charlotte, was constantly reminding me. As I look back, no one could deny that I had a penchant for dating assholes. Kyle was the supportive best friend after each nasty breakup. Until I was over it, then he gave me endless grief for choosing yet another loser.

  This time, no one could fault my decision. Sam was about to graduate with his MBA in finance, and he wasn’t wild, a frat boy, biker, jock, or any other label that fit one of the guys I’d previously dated. He was responsible, someone I could count on to keep his word, and he genuinely seemed to care for me. And I cared for him too. It was safe and predictable. Not at all boring.

  Sure, I wasn’t attracted to him with the same fiery passion I felt for someone else. I hadn’t felt that kind of pull to any of the guys I’d dated, which was why I was probably the only virgin in my graduating class. Passion wasn’t everything anyway, and it often burned out. So, I wasn’t willing to risk a deep friendship for what might be a temporary spark. Luckily for me, Kyle was too focused on his studies to date. Which meant I hadn’t been forced to endure what would most likely have been a string of gorgeous girls leaving his apartment—across the hall from mine—looking freshly fucked at all hours of the day and night. Enough of them had certainly attempted to get in his pants over the past four years.

  My thumbs hovered over the keyboard for a minute until I finally sighed and typed in a response.

  Me: Can’t. Dinner with Sam. Tomorrow?

  Bubbles popped up immediately, then disappeared. When no text came through, I set my phone on the desk beside my bed and went back to packing up the bedroom in my small off-campus apartment. Our graduation ceremony was tomorrow, and we had to be out the day after that. My sister and her husband were coming to help me move to their place just outside Fort Bering. Hopefully, I would only spend a few months there before finding an internship at a ranch. I crossed my fingers and toes that it wouldn’t be too far from Charlotte and Brandt. A tiny part of me considered looking near Dallas, but I dismissed it as quickly as it had appeared. Besides, Sam was from East Granger, a town not far from Fort Bering.

  My phone vibrated, and I navigated my way through the scattered boxes on the floor so I could grab it.

  Kyle: Sure.

  I breathed a sigh of relief. It was our last night together before he left for school in Dallas, and I was afraid of not having that time with him before we went our separate ways. It had been a long time since we’d been apart for more than a school break. Even over the summers, we’d been together because we stayed near the school in San Antonio for our jobs.

  Kyle and I met a few days into our freshman year since we lived across the hall from each other. We’d quickly become best friends, and we’d even managed to snag apartments in the same building when we’d left the dorms. We were always there for each other, and it was going to be hard to be so far apart.

  Me: We can grab dinner and then work our way through the four bottles of champagne I have stashed in my place. ;)

  Kyle: Sounds good. I’ll meet you at your apartment at 8.

  I sent him a thumbs-up and a big smiley emoji, then checked the time. Crap. I needed to get ready if I was going to be on time for Sam to pick me up. After plugging in my phone, I grabbed the outfit I’d laid out earlier and dashed to the bathroom to shower. When I was ready, I stared in the mirror and wondered if Kyle would like my look. Then I shook my head and told myself to knock it off. It was Sam I wanted to impress.

  It was a good thing Kyle didn’t feel the same way about me, or I would have a hard time keeping perspective. If anything ruined our friendship, I would be shattered to pieces. I really needed to get over the stupid crush I was harboring for my off-limits best friend.

  Sighing, I threw my phone in my purse and made my way to the living room to wait for my date.

  2

  Kyle

  I yanked on my boot and let my foot fall back to the floor with a loud thump. The walls and floor were thin and shit in this building, but I was about to lock the door for good, so what did I care? My keys were hanging on a hook by the door, so I grabbed them and shoved them in the pocket of my jeans with my wallet before dropping my hat onto my head. I’d grown up in Austin, but I was a rancher at heart, and ever since spending time on my brother’s ranch, I’d become accustomed to wearing a Stetson. It wasn’t for show—like so many other men wearing cowboy hats in the city—it was simply who I was.

  Taking one last look around, I was satisfied that I hadn’t left anything behind. I lifted the lone duff
el bag on the floor and hefted it over my shoulder. I didn’t technically have to be out of my apartment until tomorrow night, but if things with Maddie didn’t go as I hoped, I didn’t want to hang around, so I was ready to go at any moment.

  Stepping out into the hall, I shut and locked the door. I dropped the keys into the envelope they’d sent me and put it into the clear holder attached to the wall next to my door. Like always, the minute I left my apartment, my eyes went to Maddie’s door. We weren’t supposed to meet for another hour, but I was running out of patience…and courage.

  We lived on the second floor, so it only took me a handful of minutes to run the bag out to my truck, which was already loaded down with my possessions. Not that I had an overabundance. Pretty much everything I owned was in that vehicle, and it was all going with me to Dallas. My mother certainly didn’t have room to store any of my things in her one-bedroom apartment. When I’d left for college, I’d talked my mom into downgrading from our two-bedroom apartment so she wouldn’t have such high rent. She fought me at first, wanting me to have a place to stay when I came home, but I insisted, so she eventually gave in.

  My mom had raised me by herself, working two, sometimes three jobs to make ends meet. Even though my “father” was filthy rich, he’d taken my mom, a waitress, to a hotel one night and then promptly forgot about her, going home to his high-society wife and their son. A perfect little family that he wouldn’t allow to be tarnished with a poor bastard child. He threw money at everyone to keep it quiet, but my mother wouldn’t take a dime.

  She did give me his last name, though, knowing it would open doors one day and—in my opinion—to piss him off. She worked her tail off to make sure I not only had everything I needed but also had the things that other “normal” kids had. She wanted me to fit in. Although, it was easier after I turned ten, and my half brother, Stone, found out about me. Damn, he was pissed. I wasn’t sure who was angrier with his parents—him or me.

  Suddenly, some of those extra things showed up at my door periodically, allowing my mother to work just a little less. At first, I didn’t want his charity, and I didn’t understand why she would take it from Stone and not the man who’d sired me. After she explained that the gifts from Stone came from a place of love rather than a bribe, I was more open to the gifts Stone sent.

  They were always anonymous, but we knew who they were from. It wasn’t just the things, though; Stone was there for me from the first moment he learned I existed. He gave no fucks about what his parents wanted, and we built a solid relationship. He was the only reason I’d kept my last name when I was old enough to change it.

  Standing in front of Maddie’s door, I took a deep breath. I’d always been able to tell Stone anything, with one exception. I didn’t know why I’d kept Maddie a secret from everyone but my mother. At least, that’s what I told myself. Sometimes, I admitted that she was just too special, and I didn’t want to share her with anyone—even my brother. But as I thought about what I planned to do next, I also knew I’d seen this coming from the day we met. And if it didn’t go well, I wouldn’t have to talk about it with anyone because no one would know.

  It had taken me four years to finally go after what I really wanted in life. And what I wanted more than anything was Maddie. I’d spent years being her shoulder to cry on as she dated one asshole after another. She was such a free spirit, yet she chose to date boys who tried to fit her in their perfect box or just treated her like shit in general.

  Despite being her best friend and knowing everything about each other, I didn’t know what damn issue she was dealing with that drew her to these punks. Why she couldn’t see that the perfect man for her was the one holding her in his arms every time she cried…who the fuck knows. But I was tired of this shit, and it needed to change before I lost my ever-loving mind.

  We’d officially graduated today, and I was supposed to head to Dallas in the morning to start veterinary school. I wanted her to go with me, but I hadn’t worked up the nerve to ask. Now, I was out of time. And I’d waited so long that she’d finally chosen a decent-ish boyfriend for a change. Not that he was any better for her than her other string of bad choices, but at least he had a job, a degree, and treated her with respect. Mr. Boring was still all fucking wrong for her. I just needed to convince her of that fact.

  Finally, I stopped stalling like a coward and twisted the knob to open her front door and walked inside. “Maddie?” I called out to her when I didn’t see her in the front room or kitchen. The apartments had come furnished, but without her stuff, like mine, it now looked barren.

  “Yeah! One sec!”

  I looked around and chuckled at the neatly labeled and stacked boxes lined up along the living room wall. Maddie was a bit of a neat freak, and it drove her a little nuts that I was so laid-back about it. I wasn’t a slob, but there were times when I’d come home to a cleaned and organized apartment because she was tired of looking at my “chaos.” I’d never admit it out loud, but I was a little bit messier because it was so fucking adorable when she got riled up.

  My feet started moving toward the boxes, and a wicked smile spread across my face as I plotted which boxes to mess up.

  “Don’t you dare, Kyle Kensington!”

  I froze in place, one foot suspended over the ground and one hand hovering over a box. Then I twisted my head and grinned, blinking innocently. “What? I was just admiring your organization.”

  Maddie was standing at the entrance to the hall and giving me the evil eye. “Sure, you were.” She folded her arms under her full breasts, which pushed them up and out like they were being offered to me on a platter. I swallowed hard as I shifted back to a stable standing position and tucked my hands into my pockets. She looked absolutely gorgeous. Although she had a nicely rounded ass to go with her mouthwatering tits, she was tall and lean.

  Her long, red hair was hanging in a mass of wild curls down her back. She was wearing a loose cotton T-shirt that said, “Ranchers Do It Better.” Her long legs were poured into tight dark jeans, and she paired them with pink cowboy boots. She loved to wear pink and tell anyone who would listen that it was a complete myth that redheads shouldn’t wear pink because it was her best color. I always agreed on principle, but the truth was, I had no idea if it was her “best color.” I probably wasn’t the best judge because I thought Maddie looked downright fuckable no matter what she was wearing.

  “You’re right,” I admitted, trying to distract myself, and hopefully avoid making the uncomfortable state of my pants any worse. “I was going to switch around your labels.”

  Maddie huffed and glared at me as she stomped over to the couch and grabbed a gray sweater that had been tossed over the back. “I knew you were up to no good.”

  I shrugged and grinned. “Am I ever?” She laughed and shook her head before pulling the sweater over her head.

  “Are you ready to go?”

  My heart skipped a beat, and I silently reminded myself not to be a chickenshit because it could mean losing out on the best thing that would ever happen to me. “Not yet,” I grunted. I took off my hat and cocked my head toward the couch. “Let’s sit. I want to talk to you about something.”

  Maddie frowned and hesitated, her hazel green eyes watching me closely for a moment before she nodded. She padded over to the couch and sat down, silently waiting as I joined her.

  Here goes everything…

  3

  Maddie

  Why did he always have to look so damn yummy? I blinked a couple of times and silently groaned when he didn’t look any less appealing. Kyle was ruggedly handsome. Tall and muscular with short, wavy black hair, a chiseled jaw, full lips, and striking blue eyes. And let’s not forget the freaking dimples in his scruffy cheeks. It was actually pretty irritating sometimes because I felt so frumpy next to his Western movie star good looks.

  He’d shown up in a white T-shirt, faded blue jeans, brown boots, and a brown hat. Simple enough, yet I had all kinds of tingles shooting around my body
—stupid traitorous hormones. Guilt trickled in as I thought about the big life choice I’d just made, and once again, I reminded myself that passion isn’t everything.

  Kyle’s expression had hardened with determination as he sat next to me, and a wary feeling crept over me. My intuition was shouting at me to cut and run, but I tamped down my desire to flee, and calmly asked, “So? What’s on your mind?” He ran his hands through his hair, then folded his arms over his chest. My eyes strayed to his bulging biceps for a minute before I managed to drag them back to his face. I frowned when he smirked, obviously having caught me ogling.

  “I can’t seem to come up with a smooth way to ease into this conversation.” He leaned back against the arm of the couch and stared at me intently. “So I’m just going to dive right in.”

  I wasn’t sure if he was looking for a response, so I nodded.

  “I love you, Maddie.”

  WHAT? THE? FUCK? My started spinning—not Linda Blair style but more like the carnival rides that spin so fast you stick to the wall. I was utterly speechless with absolutely no idea what to say to his declaration.

  “We’ve been best friends for four years, Maddie, and I’ve watched you go through loser after loser. I’ve always been there for you, and I always will be. But I’m tired of standing back while you do this to yourself over and over.” He shook his head and sighed. “We are about to enter the real world, Mad. It’s time to act like grown-ups and leave the adolescent bullshit and drama behind.”