Rhodey's Road Trip: Cowboys of Cauldron Valley, #12

By Caroline Lee

Ditie Weston is going on an adventure! …At least, that's how she's choosing to look at things. She's always loved to travel, and now that she's inherited an RV from her beloved great aunt, Ditie is determined to conquer her grief on a road trip across America.

The only problem? She has no idea how to drive an RV.

Luckily, that's where Rhodey Smythe comes in. One of her new brothers-in-law recommends Rhodey as a cowboy who can drive anything with wheels, and fix it besides. And the fact he's gorgeous—tall, tanned, and hands just as big and callused as Ditie likes—is a bonus.

But once the RV trip starts, and the two of them are forced into close quarters, sparks and accusations start to fly. Because Rhodey isn't who he appears to be, and Ditie's grand adventure might be over before it begins.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Caroline Lee
• Release date: Sep 11, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393698203

Book preview

Chapter 1

Well, Charleston International Airport was just adorable, wasn’t it?

Ditie Weston had to smile as she strolled past the ticket counters. She’d arrived early, and while she knew she probably could’ve just waited in the cell-phone lot for the call to come pick up her new employee, she hated the thought of missing out on this place.

She loved airports. And train stations. And even bus terminals, actually. She loved watching people on their travels, knowing they were headed for someplace new and exciting, or coming home after some adventure. And as far as she was concerned, any kind of travel was an adventure, even if it was just to Scranton for work, or a business trip to Florida.

Or a cross-country drive to Charleston to move in with Aunt Gertie.

Sighing, Ditie shoved her hands in the pockets of her shorts and tried to shrug the tension out of her shoulders.

She’s in a better place now.

That’s what the preacher had assured her when she’d arranged Aunt Gertie’s funeral service. Ditie knew her great-aunt was beyond all pain now, and that was a blessing. But the last year, watching the old woman slip further and further away, had been the hardest experience of her life.

But she’d loved the old bat, and for some reason, of all her family, Aunt Gertie had adored Ditie most of all. So when Aunt Gertie had needed her, Ditie had put her life on hold and moved to Charleston.

Although not by plane, which was a bit of a shame, because it would’ve been fun to fly into this place. Smiling, Ditie took note of the newsstands and restaurants. This airport wasn’t the smallest she’d been in, but it definitely was no hub.

Whoever had named it International must’ve been a bit ambitious. Unless a plane from the Bahamas had once made an emergency landing here or something. There was a customs area, but she had to wonder how often it got used.

Flight 111 from Denver is arriving at gate B4.

The announcement was one of many, but Ditie had been listening especially for that flight number and was pleased to hear it was on time. Sure, she could’ve just pulled up her flight app, but where was the fun in that? She needed to be here, listening to the announcements, smelling the scents of anticipation and lost luggage, basking in the hustle and bustle. This is what it was all about!

Suddenly, Ditie was filled with a wonderful sense of certainty.

I’m going on an adventure!

Sure, it wouldn’t be today, and it wasn’t now. But it had been so long since she’d been able to travel, and now…! Now, she was about to embark again. On a grand adventure, one she’d never before experienced.

She just needed the plane to land so she could get started.

Her phone buzzed, and she stepped out of the flow of people to scramble for her cross-body purse. It was really more of a messenger bag, but she was a gal who liked to carry stuff with her. She pushed aside a sweater, a water bottle, three granola bars, a pack of gum—I was looking for that!—two packets of tissues, a spoon, eyedrops, shoestring—she didn’t wear tennis shoes, but you never knew when you might need a shoestring—three bottles of hand sanitizer and a novelty ice cream scoop, before finally pulling out her phone.

One of these days, I need to clean this thing out.

Fumbling, she flipped the phone over and smiled when she saw her big sister’s name.

Hi, Artie! she said, thrilled to hear from home. How’s life? Are you calling to tell me I’m going to be an aunt?

Jeez Louise, you all need to calm down! I swear, Mom asked me the exact same thing when I called her last week.

Grinning, Ditie swung her bag back around to her butt, then cupped her hand around the phone to block out some of the noise around her. Well, if you’d call more than once a month, we might not jump to conclusions!

Her sister had gotten married earlier that summer—actually, four of Ditie’s sisters had gotten married that summer, which was a little ridiculous—and as the oldest besides Jax, apparently everyone was expecting Artie and her new husband, Wyatt, to start popping out babies soon.

Well, Wyatt probably won’t be popping any babies out.

But if he did, that would be interesting. Of course, she’d met Wyatt a few times over the years, since he and Jax were best friends, and she couldn’t recall there being anything weird about him. Surely someone would’ve mentioned something important like that to her, right?

Important like, Ditie, your new brother-in-law can give birth?

That seemed important, so since no one had mentioned it, she should probably assume it wasn’t—

Ditie? You still there?

Ditie jerked, realizing she’d been lost in her musings, and hummed into the phone. I’m here, sorry. At the airport, so things are a little crazy.

Oh, awesome. I was actually just calling—you know, more than once a month—to see if you’d picked Rhodey up yet.

Ditie glanced up at the arrivals board and saw his plane had already landed. Not yet, but I’m heading to baggage to meet him. She matched action to claim by heading in the direction of the arrows

That’s great. Are you cool with him? Anything else you need from my end?

Shaking her head, even though she knew her sister couldn’t see her, Ditie dodged around a family pushing an overloaded luggage cart, with a toddler perched precariously on top. I haven’t met the guy yet, but I really appreciate you hooking us up.

No problem. When I mentioned your problem to Lanie, she was the one who’d suggested Rhodey as the solution.

"I can’t believe she was able to even think about my issues when she’s got that new cutie-pie in her life."

On the other end of the phone, Artie chuckled. Baby Blossom has got to be the cutest little baby in creation. Although I think I’m obligated to say that Wyatt’s niece CJ is the cutest first-grader. And since I suspect she’s going to be a big sister in the spring, Blossom’s going to have some competition here on the ranch when it comes to babies.

Out of breath, Ditie made it to the baggage claim area and started checking the monitors to figure out which of the carousels her new employee’s luggage would be arriving on. Not that it mattered; from where she stood she could see all of them.

Distractedly, she said to her sister, You haven’t sent me any photos in a week. Lanie at least sent me some of Blossom.

Ditie would never begrudge the time she’d spent here in Charleston with Aunt Gertie, especially near the end. But she had missed her siblings, in particular her sisters and her twin brother, Don. She’d missed out on all the excitement in her family over the summer and relied on her sisters to send her photos. She loved it when she got to see the new couples; their arms around one another and looking so darn in love.

Okay, okay, Artie huffed. Hold on, I’ll send you one of Wager.

There was the sound of fumbling, and Ditie pulled the phone away from her ear to see an incoming text message. She clicked on it and squealed.

"Oh, Artie! He’s adorable."

Which one? The dog, or Wyatt?

The photo was of a handsome man with light green eyes, smiling widely, as a puppy tried to climb up his shoulder. This brother-in-law of hers was handsome alright, but Ditie was a sucker for puppy pictures.

"The dog of course. That scruffy-looking wannabe cowboy who’s holding him could use a—"

"Hey now, my husband is not a wannabe cowboy."

Oh please, Ditie snorted teasingly, moving toward the waiting zone. He’s not even wearing a hat.

And you know all about cowboys, do you?

Hey, what can I say? I like cowboys.

Artie blew a raspberry. You wouldn’t know a cowboy if he sat on you.

I think I would notice that.

"And noticing if one is sitting on you makes you an expert?"

But Ditie didn’t answer—couldn’t answer, because at that moment, she did know all about cowboys.

And very much knew what she liked.

One was walking toward her right now.

A man in a cowboy hat had just stepped into the baggage area, and Ditie felt her jaw drop. Lord in Heaven, the man was divine. He was tall and lanky, a blue button-up shirt tucked into jeans, the sleeves rolled up to reveal forearms covered in a sprinkling of dark hairs. He had a jaw which made Ditie’s mouth water, and wide lips, which were pulled into a sensual smirk.

And his hands…

Heaven help her, his hands!

She’d always been a sucker for a set of callused, rough hands, and when this man lifted one to scratch at his clean-shaven jaw, her knees went weak.

Hey, sis, you still there?

Ditie couldn’t drag her eyes away from the newly arrived cowboy. She tried to remind herself it was a flight from Denver, so there was bound to be at least one cowboy onboard. But there was something about him…

Artie, she managed to choke, what does Rhodey look like?

Oh, I guess I should’ve sent you a photo or something so you’d recognize him, huh?

The man’s warm gaze slid past Ditie to the baggage carousel, and she found herself able to breathe again. "Is he, uh…like, really handsome?"

On the other end of the phone, her sister hummed. "Not