Between Her Cowboys: (Taken by Cowboys: Part 4) A Billionaire Western Romance by A.L. Loire Page B
Authors: A.L. Loire
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Caroline with a hearty “Good morning!” and a kiss on the cheek. Moving with characteristic purpose, she looked fresh and capable as usual as she crossed the room to greet Spencer. They had been damn lucky to land Caroline as an assistant. Without her, the ranch would be a mess. Spencer poured them each a cup of coffee—black for him and Nate, dash of cream for Caroline—and they settled down at the table.
“Everything OK with you guys?” she asked before her cup hit the table.
Spencer exchanged a quick look with Nate. They’d been exactly right.
“Dandy as usual,” Nate said, his voice light.
“I was wondering where you were after dinner last night,” Caroline said. “I didn’t see you at the campfire.”
“We figured that Billy had it under control,” Spencer put in quickly. “He always hates it when we intervene with his storytelling too much, anyway. Well, when Nate does.”
“I can’t help it if I steal the show,” Nate said with a grin. “In all seriousness, though, Spencer and I wanted to get a head start on today’s agenda.”
Spencer felt a burst of appreciation for his best friend, who, for all his goofiness, was much quicker on his feet than Spencer was. It was a damn good lie, especially because Caroline was so concerned with the wellbeing of Getaway Guest Ranch.
“Is it that bad?” Caroline said, her brow furrowing.
“Well, it’s not good,” Nate said with a sigh, leafing through the sheaf of papers in front of him. “This last season just hasn’t been the best.”
“I don’t get it,” Caroline said. “Our guests love us. We make sure that no one has anything short of an amazing vacation. Why aren’t we getting enough business?”
“You’re right, of course, Caroline,” Nate said. “Our guests do love us, and they come back to us. The problem is finding new guests. We’re still pretty young, and we don’t have enough repeat guests to give us enough business to sustain us for the long term.”
“But don’t our guests bring us others?” said Caroline. “They talk about us to our friends, their friends come…”
“Not as much as you’d think,” Nate said. “Plus, they come from all over. It’s quite hard to spread the word to ‘all over.’ We’ve gotten better at our marketing, but there’s still a lot of work to be done.”
Spencer and Nate had been keeping a close eye on the books, and while things were far from dire, Nate was right that they needed to improve their marketing strategy. They had started the ranch from their own initial investment, after they’d had to leave Wall Street following their financial fall from grace. Luckily, they’d managed to keep their swollen bank accounts. But they didn’t want to tap into their personal funds any more than they had to.
“We know we have a great guest ranch,” Spencer said. “The problem lies in letting other people know it.”
“That is a pickle,” Caroline said, chewing her lip. “Gosh, guys. I wish I could help. I just don’t know how.”
“It’s not your job, Caro,” Spencer said. “And it’s not your responsibility, either. We just wanted to let you know the situation, since as you know, we don’t like to hide things from you.”
“I appreciate your transparency,” Caroline said. “You boys just let me know if there’s anything I can do.”
“We sure will,” Nate said. “But we also wanted to tell you again how much we appreciate all your work around here. If we didn’t have you to take care of the details, we’d be a hell of a lot farther in the hole.”
“You know how much I love this place,” Caroline said. She drained her coffee and stood. “Speaking of which, I should get to the dining lodge. Breakfast is about to start.”
“We’ll come along,” Nate said. “I think we’re done for now. Right, Spence?”
“I believe so,” Spencer said, gathering the coffee cups.
“I hope Jess will be there,” Caroline said. “She disappeared last night after
“Everything OK with you guys?” she asked before her cup hit the table.
Spencer exchanged a quick look with Nate. They’d been exactly right.
“Dandy as usual,” Nate said, his voice light.
“I was wondering where you were after dinner last night,” Caroline said. “I didn’t see you at the campfire.”
“We figured that Billy had it under control,” Spencer put in quickly. “He always hates it when we intervene with his storytelling too much, anyway. Well, when Nate does.”
“I can’t help it if I steal the show,” Nate said with a grin. “In all seriousness, though, Spencer and I wanted to get a head start on today’s agenda.”
Spencer felt a burst of appreciation for his best friend, who, for all his goofiness, was much quicker on his feet than Spencer was. It was a damn good lie, especially because Caroline was so concerned with the wellbeing of Getaway Guest Ranch.
“Is it that bad?” Caroline said, her brow furrowing.
“Well, it’s not good,” Nate said with a sigh, leafing through the sheaf of papers in front of him. “This last season just hasn’t been the best.”
“I don’t get it,” Caroline said. “Our guests love us. We make sure that no one has anything short of an amazing vacation. Why aren’t we getting enough business?”
“You’re right, of course, Caroline,” Nate said. “Our guests do love us, and they come back to us. The problem is finding new guests. We’re still pretty young, and we don’t have enough repeat guests to give us enough business to sustain us for the long term.”
“But don’t our guests bring us others?” said Caroline. “They talk about us to our friends, their friends come…”
“Not as much as you’d think,” Nate said. “Plus, they come from all over. It’s quite hard to spread the word to ‘all over.’ We’ve gotten better at our marketing, but there’s still a lot of work to be done.”
Spencer and Nate had been keeping a close eye on the books, and while things were far from dire, Nate was right that they needed to improve their marketing strategy. They had started the ranch from their own initial investment, after they’d had to leave Wall Street following their financial fall from grace. Luckily, they’d managed to keep their swollen bank accounts. But they didn’t want to tap into their personal funds any more than they had to.
“We know we have a great guest ranch,” Spencer said. “The problem lies in letting other people know it.”
“That is a pickle,” Caroline said, chewing her lip. “Gosh, guys. I wish I could help. I just don’t know how.”
“It’s not your job, Caro,” Spencer said. “And it’s not your responsibility, either. We just wanted to let you know the situation, since as you know, we don’t like to hide things from you.”
“I appreciate your transparency,” Caroline said. “You boys just let me know if there’s anything I can do.”
“We sure will,” Nate said. “But we also wanted to tell you again how much we appreciate all your work around here. If we didn’t have you to take care of the details, we’d be a hell of a lot farther in the hole.”
“You know how much I love this place,” Caroline said. She drained her coffee and stood. “Speaking of which, I should get to the dining lodge. Breakfast is about to start.”
“We’ll come along,” Nate said. “I think we’re done for now. Right, Spence?”
“I believe so,” Spencer said, gathering the coffee cups.
“I hope Jess will be there,” Caroline said. “She disappeared last night after
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