Rugged Cowboy: A Grumpy Sunshine Western Romance

Chapter 18

Viv was sitting in her office a week later, going through the schedule. Janine smirked at her.“Someone’s certainly happy.”

Viv lifted her head, confused.“What do you mean?”

“Humming? Tapping your fingers? Smiling?” She leaned forward with a smile herself.“You’ve always been a cheerful person, but this takes it to a whole other level. Let me guess. Wade?”

Viv felt her face heat, and she focused on the schedule. Yes, she and Wade had been spending a lot of time together and she had decided to embrace living in the moment and not dwelling on the future, despite the ticking clock in the back of her mind. She ignored the potential time bomb and avoided discussing their future even as the sound grew ever louder, deciding to focus on the present. It was ironic, really, as Viv had long been the one in every relationship to avoid any talk of commitment, future plans, and even the word ‘relationship.’ Karma really was a bitch sometimes.

“It’s a nice day and everything is going great. The goats haven’t made a run for it. Profits are up. Why wouldn’t I be happy?”

Janine settled back with a knowing grin.“Okay, I’ll back off. I have to admit, the goat yoga class has been immensely popular and the kids love the goat sessions later in the day. Reading to them. Taking them for nature walks. And even the goat naps. Stroke of genius, you had. These changes have been incredible.”

Viv grinned.“The pictures are adorable on the website.”

She only hoped her friend agreed with the changes she’s made. Greta had said she could change the classes as she saw fit, provided Sarah agreed. Now, with Michael taking over and Sarah stepping aside, he was in firm agreement that the goats had a future at the Guest Ranch. Even Wade had come around and escorted the last group of kids on their nature walk with the goats. It was adorable.

It was going to be hard to leave, especially as she was doing the schedule and noticing it was winding down, with fewer guests expected now that fall had started and the cold weather was starting in Montana. Greta was also expected back from maternity leave in the new few weeks, leaving Viv an outsider again.

She sighed. She should never have gotten involved with Wade or so invested in the Guest Ranch. She should have remembered that she was a temporary employee, three months at most, and never intended to stay. She risked her friendship with Greta by everything she had done. Ber friend could be angry by Viv’s liberties, of if she thought Viv was trying to steal her job.

And Wade. How was she going to leave him? It’s not like New York was an easy long-distance commute for a romance. With him running the ranch, he couldn’t get away easily. Ranching was a twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week kind of job. He didn’t get vacation time. He would not be jetting off to New York to visit her. He’d made no promises, made no commitment to her, even as they both knew the clock was ticking. She needed to put some distance between them before she got her heart broken. If it wasn’t already too late, that was.

Her computer dinged with a video call, and she groaned. Her mother. Janine glanced up and saw Viv’s grimace. She quickly gathered her notebook.“I’ll catch you later.”

Viv clicked the screen, and her mother’s face filled the screen.“So you are alive. We hadn’t heard from you and wondered how you were. Thought maybe a mountain lion got you or something.”

Viv restrained the urge to roll her eyes.“Mom, I talked to you last week. Don’t be dramatic.”

“What do you expect? My baby has left and gone all the way across the country to the wild unknown. I worry about you.”

Now she let the eyes roll freely.“Mom, it’s not the Amazon jungle or something. It’s Montana, a state in the United States and quite populated. There are plenty of people around and I haven’t seen or heard a mountain lion.”

She decided not to mention the bear that wandered around the side of her cabin the previous week. Her mother would probably not recover from that fright, even though they had them back home and her mother had seen plenty of them. Her mother sighed.“Fine. I miss you. We all do. Eden’s wedding is coming up fast, and she needs you. We all do. When are you coming home?”

That was the million-dollar question, wasn’t it? If it were up to her…who was she kidding? She didn’t know what she wanted. She cared for Wade, but without knowing how he felt, she was worried about putting her heart on the line. Would he throw it back at her, stomp all over it? Or would he catch her and hold it close?

“Mom, I have a contract here and work to do.” There, a nice noncommittal answer with no end date. Maybe that would get her mom off her back.

“Genevieve, your cousin Amy is pregnant. Her and Brad were in France, working on some contracts for the vineyard to sell our wine in Europe. But she is having a difficult time with the pregnancy. She can’t travel home and you know how busy our fall season is. She runs our events and tasting room better than anyone. Everyone else has their roles. We need you to step in for her.”

Viv sat back, stunned by the news about Amy. She hadn’t agreed with the plan to focus on the European market and, frankly, neither had Viv’s brother, James, but their father and uncle loved the idea of the expansion. And Amy’s husband, Brad, believed he had the connections to make it work. They had yet to see any fruit from that endeavor, but Viv hadn’t been involved in the business for a while, so maybe something had changed. Either way, she felt bad for her cousin and her difficult pregnancy.

“Mom, I have an obligation to the Buchanans. I signed a contract to work here for the season.”

“What about your duty to your family? That is your priority. You can teach people how to stretch and breathe anywhere. You did it here for years. I think they can figure it out for a while out there on their own. We need you.”

These were words Viv had longed to hear her entire life. Her family needed her. The problem was, they didn’t need her. They needed the person they wanted her to be, not who she really was. They still didn’t respect or understand her and what she did, and they never would.

“Mom, I’m sorry. You can hire someone for the tasting room or an event planner. Other vineyards have done it. I have a job here and I’m good at it. I’m staying. Tell everyone I said hi.”

And she ended the call, her heart aching at the vision of the shocked look on her mother’s face.

She swiveled her chair around and stared out at the ranch grounds surrounding the spa center. She’d done it now. She’d really pissed off her mother, possibly even cut ties. She could expect a call from her brother or maybe her dad laying on the guilt trip even harder. But she didn’t regret it. She had to take a stand. But there was a niggling voice inside wondering if it was the right decision. There was a ticking clock for her at the ranch. What if she had nowhere to go when that clock ran down?