Winning Over The Cowboy. Shannon Vannatter Taylor

or that she’d be named a beneficiary. And Landry seemed genuine. He could usually get a good read on people. Wasn’t easy to pull one over on him. He’d just have to spend time with her—figure her out a piece at a time. Until the puzzle that made up Landry Malone was complete.

      Might as well get to it.

      * * *

      Day three. What would Chase pull today in his quest to get rid of her? Maybe they could forget yesterday and start over. She drew in a deep breath and crossed the great room, ready for battle.

      He sat in a wingback in the foyer, reading a horse magazine. Her steps stalled.

      Seemed harmless. But she’d keep an eye on him. Just in case.

      The phone rang.

      “You can get it.” He didn’t move.

      Of course she could. She was half owner and didn’t need his permission.

      She hurried to the reservation desk, grabbed the handset. “Chasing Eden Dude Ranch. May I help you?”

      “Yes.” A pleasant-sounding woman. “I’d like to book a room for a week. We’d arrive a week from today. Do you have anything available?”

      “Let me check.” She scanned the calendar on the screen. “How many people?”

      “Two adults, two children.”

      With Chase’s scrutiny, it took all her concentration to do a mental inventory of their rooms that would suit the caller’s needs.

      “We have the Roundup Room, which has a queen and a twin bunk bed. Or we have the Tarry Awhile Room with a king-size bed. That room connects to our Wild Horses Room with two twin beds.” She quoted rates on both setups. “We also have an all inclusive package with trail rides, fishing trips, camping and three meals a day.” She quoted more rates. “Or you can pay only for the activities you utilize and meals when you dine in.”

      “We’re visiting family near, so we’ll probably spend most of our days and meals with them. The two rooms sound perfect, though. Can we get both of them for the whole week?”

      “You can.” Landry settled at the desk. “Let’s confirm dates, and then I’ll need a name for the reservation and a credit card.”

      As she entered all the information in the desktop, she glanced at Chase. Watching her.

      She closed her eyes, forced her focus back to the caller. “Since you have family near, have you been to our area before, Mrs. Collins?”

      “Yes.”

      “We usually offer to mail a brochure of area attractions in advance.” To encourage potential guests not to change their minds, Chase had instructed. “Would you be interested in that?”

      “We’ll just pick one up when we get there.”

      “All right, then.” She scanned the screen, making sure she’d entered everything required. “I have all that I need. We’ll look forward to your stay, Mrs. Collins. If you have any questions or concerns in the meantime, please don’t hesitate to call.”

      “Thank you so much.”

      She ended the call. Without missing a beat, it rang again.

      “Go for it.” He flipped a magazine page.

      So, did he expect her to play receptionist while he chilled out? “Chasing Eden Dude Ranch. May I help you?”

      “Yes.” A contrite woman’s voice. “I’d like to cancel our reservation for next week, please. The Martin family.”

      Landry scanned to the reservation on the computer. A family of six—two rooms. “May I reschedule your stay for you?” She copied the reservation, credit info included, ready to paste somewhere else.

      “No. I’m sorry, but Horseshoe Trails is running a special. We found a better deal.”

      “I hate to hear that.” Should she offer to match the deal? Not without knowing what it was. Not without discussing it with her partner. Her gaze crashed into Chase’s. “Would you like to sign up for our newsletter to keep you informed on when we run specials?”

      “That sounds good.” The woman carefully enunciated her email address.

      Landry read it back to confirm. “Please keep us in mind for your next stay.”

      The line went dead.

      “Another cancellation? Let me guess. They’re taking their business to Horseshoe Trails.” Chase set his coffee cup down with a thunk.

      “How did you know?”

      “It’s the third one. Kind of cancels out the booking you made earlier. What was that about a newsletter and specials?”

      “I think we should start one, and we need to discuss specials.” She wrote down the competition’s name on a scratchpad, circled it and underlined it. “Where is Horseshoe Trails?”

      “Right down the road. Back when Granny and Gramps opened this place, there were only a few other dude ranches in the area. Now there are at least a dozen, and we all fight for guests.” He nabbed his coffee, stood and then strolled into the office.

      She chased after him, stopped at his side in front of the back window. Miles of woods interspersed with pastures. Peaceful, like coming home.

      “This place was always hopping when we were kids,” he said. “With trail rides, cattle drives, fishing and camping trips year-round. And the swimming pool in the summer. Never a dull moment, and guests had to book well in advance.”

      “I know you want it to stay that way. So do I.” She hated to ask, but it was her business, too. “Is the ranch losing money?”

      “Not yet. But business has been down. In the off-seasons, we barely break even.”

      “We have to do something.” A hummingbird flitted about the feeder until another dive-bombed him.

      “What can we do?” He splayed his free hand. “We can’t force people to stay here.”

      “No. But we can find ways to lure them here.” The hummingbirds did a jousting dance in the air before the dominant one won. Much like her and Chase. “Do you know what Horseshoe Trails’s special is?”

      “No.”

      “We need to find out.” She turned to the desk, settled in the chair, Googled Horseshoe Trails. “Fifteen percent off regular room prices. And their all-inclusive package is ten percent cheaper than ours. Through August.”

      “That’s basically giving rooms away.” He paced behind her. “We can’t pay our staff at those rates.”

      “Can we pay our staff if we keep losing reservations?”

      “Let me guess.” He stopped pacing at the back window. “You think we should match the offer?”

      “We beat it. Drop our room prices and inclusive package five percent cheaper than theirs. Only for the rest of the summer.”

      “You think that will work?” He claimed the nailhead chair across from her, sipped his coffee.

      “Well, it’s not working as-is.”

      “What about the guests who already have reservations?”

      “We’ll specify that it starts with reservations made this week.” The desk chair made a creaking sound as she leaned back. “It won’t apply to already booked guests. Unless they call to cancel. Or unless they mention it.”

      He hooked his leg over the arm of the chair. “We can give it a try. But what if they beat our offer?”

      “We’ll cross that bridge if we get there.” She lifted one shoulder. “Give me the password for the website and I’ll set it up.”

      He hesitated,