The Cowboy Falls for the Veterinarian: Western Romance (Miller Brothers of Texas Book 3)

by Natalie Dean

  As he reached his room, that dissatisfied, malcontented feeling wouldn’t go away. He felt like he was still arguing with his brother, which was irritating in the absolute worst way. When he tried to settle, maybe surf the internet, that energy just wouldn’t dissipate.

  Oh well. Maybe it was a good time for a workout.

  That seemed better than nothing, so he went to the small gym room in the wing he and Silas shared. It wasn’t as big as in the main wing or in Sal’s, but it had a television, treadmill, elliptical, weight set and a few other machines that were more than enough for him. Besides, he didn’t really want to see anyone else at the moment. Just him and his thoughts.

  He thought about going and taking one of their horses out for a ride, something he’d taken to doing with Silas. But chances were his older twin would see him and come along, and that wasn’t what Sterling wanted.

  Actually, he felt like he hadn’t been sure of what he wanted ever since Samuel ditched the family to stay at their aunt and uncle’s ranch with his new lady friend. He hadn’t known that they could just do that. Decide their own fates and just… do it, no matter the cost.

  It was like a whole new world of options had been presented to him and he was too… scared to look at any of them? No, he wasn’t scared. He was…

  He didn’t know what it was that made him not want to think about it, but pumping iron and getting his heart rate up helped him at least forget that for a while. Adrenaline started pumping, chasing away the uncertainty, making him assured and confident as he liked to be.

  It was a good while later when he finally finished, wiping sweat down with one of the soft towels they always kept in the workout room, then tossing it in the hamper for their laundry service to take care of. They came about once a week, and along with their small staff of household workers, kept the overly large estate from falling behind.

  …huh. Sterling had never thought of their house as oversized, but with Samuel gone, their youngest brother at college, and Solomon spending so much time in the city, there was a certain sort of emptiness to it he had never noticed before.

  He tried his best to dismiss that idea as he made it back to his room then showered. That made him feel a bit better, scrubbing the dirt from the ranch off along with his sweat. A small escape, but one he dragged out for probably longer than his skin would have liked.

  Oh well.

  Eventually, however, his fingers were pruning a little too insistently, so he forced himself out. From there, he grabbed more towels for the laundry service to clean and dried off, getting dressed in his comfortable nightclothes. He sat back down at his desktop—one that he’d gotten during his college years to play video games and work on projects with but mostly sat unused lately—when he noticed an email notification sitting in the corner of his screen.

  Clicking on it, he was surprised to see that Elizabeth had lived up to her word, and the report was sitting right there waiting for him. He wasn’t sure why he was surprised, considering how gung-ho she was already, but maybe he was just used to a certain sort of detachment from the business side of the ranch.

  Sterling opened it, not quite sure what to expect. But it certainly wasn’t anywhere near the five-page list of what she thought needed improvement.

  But the real kicker was, it wasn’t just an endless list demanding money for fixes. There was a reason why as well as hyperlinks to either a website where such things could be bought online or companies that provided the recommended services. She even wrote reviews under each link, with only a couple of them stating could not find verified feedback, further research needed.

  If Sterling had tried to put together the same thing, it would have taken him days. Maybe even a week or two. But she’d come onto the ranch, thoroughly inspected the pens, and basically wrote a dissertation on what he and his family were doing wrong. In fact, they’d been doing so much wrong that apparently a whole team of specialists was needed. People and things he didn’t have any access to without involving the business. So far, he’d just planned to use his personal expense account. But what she was recommending was basically in another league.

  He could just fire her. Tell her that her goals were too lofty. Maybe even dismiss her as a bleeding heart who cared more about animals than people—that was his father’s usual go-to. It would be the easiest solution, and Sterling sure did like easy solutions.

  And yet, he didn’t do that at all. Instead, he typed a measured response, at least in his opinion, stating that they needed to discuss it the next day. Once that was done, he realized that he’d spent much more time in the gym and the shower than he’d expected to, a little over three hours, and he was so utterly exhausted all of a sudden.

  Shutting his computer down, he headed to the king-sized bed in his bedroom attached to his lounge and slid under the covers. But even as he laid there, letting his body relax, sleep wouldn’t come to him.

  …what exactly had he gotten himself into?

  8

  Elizabeth

  Elizabeth couldn’t lie to herself; she had been nervous sending out her full report, something that was rare for her. But what she was asking for was a lot, a lot-a lot, and there was the voice in the back of her head that said they were just going to kick her out and tell her the pigs were fine as they were.

  But it was only because the pigs were so very not fine that she hit that send button, and at least Sterling didn’t fire her outright on reply.

  He didn’t exactly agree either. So, she headed to work, expecting the worst but hoping that maybe, just maybe, something good might happen. But when she saw his truck already at the barn, his long, well-built figure leaned up against the side of it like something out of a movie, her gut churned with anxiety.

  It would be a bummer to lose the job after one day, even if part of her still believed that it was too good to be true. But still, even a day of pay would help her a long way while she hunted around for a new job, and she got the feeling from Teddy that Silas would never allow for her to get ripped off for her time.

  “Morning,” she said as she stepped out of her car, squaring her shoulders and putting her best business face on. “You’re up early.”

  “I’m always up early,” he answered steadily, pushing himself off his truck to stand upright.

  “Really? You don’t seem like the up and at ’em type.”

  He smiled crookedly at that, tipping his head just slightly so that his hat cast a slight shadow over his face. “Used to not be, but then Silas took to riding at the crack of dawn, and I guess me and him just got into the habit of chasing the sun.”

  The thought of him and his brother both riding across the flats of the ranch, hair whipped back in the wind, drenched in the honey-gold of the morning flashed across Elizabeth’s mind, and that was certainly a pretty sight. But she pushed that aside when the logical part of her brain caught up with his words.

  “I haven’t seen any horses around here.”

  “They’re mostly on the opposite side of the pens. More towards the cows and the fields. These guys are a recent thing my family started and wasn’t sure they wanted to pursue.”

  Ah, that explained why everything was so slapdash. “Perhaps that was something that should have been thought about a little more beforehand, given what I’ve observed.”

  “Yeah, you observed a whole lot, didn’t you?”

  Well that was a sentence that gave away absolutely nothing. “It’s what you’re paying me for, isn’t it?” And hopefully will continue paying me for.

  “I suppose so. And a lot more, it seems, going by your list.”

  “I wanted to be thorough.”

  “That much was obvious. Shall we go to the main house to discuss things? I have my office there as well as a computer.”

  A sliver of trepidation went through her. She was familiar with barns, with animals; that was her comfort spot. She definitely did not feel the same about McMansions owned by her employers. But he had a point. If they were going to go through
her recommendations, having a computer and a desk would be prudent.

  …would also be a really good place to fire her.

  Withholding a sigh, Elizabeth nodded. “I guess I’ll follow you in my car.”

  “Great.” There was that crooked grin again. Surely, he wouldn’t smile at her like that and then fire her… right? …right? “I’ll go slow.”

  She gave a nod and then they were off, either going to her inevitable doom or the world’s most awkward house tour. Sterling didn’t really go slow per se, but it certainly wasn’t as quick as he had driven when he’d received the emergency call about Peggy, so at least there was that.

  But all thoughts about speed fled from Elizabeth’s mind as the mansion came into view. No, mansion wasn’t even the right word for it. It was practically a castle.

  The thing was huge. Sprawling. Basically, a town in its own right. Sure, yeah, maybe the large center part was a mansion, three stories tall at least with balconies on the top floor and several bay windows. But there were six wings that split off in different directions, almost like a star or flower. It was bigger than any mall Elizabeth had ever seen and about four times as fancy.

  She pulled up behind Sterling at what she assumed was a side door, considering the nice garage that could probably house about two families in it, just sitting a bit away, and before she could think it through, words were tumbling out of her mouth.

  “I don’t understand how you can put all of this money into a place you couldn’t possibly fill up while your animals don’t have proper care.”

  Well… that wasn’t very diplomatic. But their giant mansion spoke of money, and if they had that kind of money, then all of their animals should have the latest and greatest in husbandry. Was it just the pigs that were shorted? What if the rest of their livestock were in similarly awful conditions? What kind of excuse did they have?

  “You’re here to help that, aren’t you?” he said, leading her inside.

  They went an impossible route, down a hall, up a flight of stairs, down another hall; she wouldn’t have been able to find her way back if she tried. But eventually they ended up in a small, office-like room complete with a desk, a couple of chairs in front of it as well as behind it, and several bookcases. It wasn’t exactly Sterling’s style, or at least what she thought his style was, but it was certainly functional.

  Sterling sat down behind the desk, pulling out some papers from a drawer and setting them in front of her, then pulling out a red pen.

  “I’m not really an organizational type, so forgive me if this goes a bit slowly.”

  She leaned over to see that he had printed out her list, well… that was a good sign, right? “A man of the earth or something?”

  And then there was that smile again. Elizabeth thought that maybe God should put a limit on how much Sterling could use that grin.

  His smooth voice continued, “I guess you could say that, at least recently.” Before she could ask what he meant by that, he was turning the papers around so she could read it. “I’m telling you right now that we can’t do all of these, so you and I are going through this one by one until we decide on what’s absolutely necessary during a first pass, and what can be added later once we’ve proved that this is a worthwhile investment.”

  “The care of animals is always a worthwhile investment.”

  He paused a moment, his pen hovering over the paper, and his head tilted to the side as he regarded her. “Yes, you would think that.”

  “Because it’s the right thing to think.”

  He didn’t say anything regarding her last statement and instead pointed to the first item. “Now, I noticed you started with the no or low-cost improvements, but I was wondering how burying some logs and putting chains through some of them will help the pigs?”

  Huh, he wasn’t arguing with her. She supposed that was as good as any place to start. One by one, they went through the list. Most of the time he didn’t make her parrot her whole explanation as to why they were needed—since she’d written most of them down in her report. Instead, he would ask her to clarify things he didn’t understand or wanted to understand more completely. It was a negotiation, that much was clear, and Elizabeth found herself enjoying the challenge.

  “And what’s this? A heat lamp? I wasn’t aware our pigs were freezing, considering it’s the middle of summer.”

  “You’ll note that I said it was for the indoor area and the birthing pens, as it’s good for piglets. I figured it would be prudent to make you aware of the need for them ahead of time instead of waiting until its cold enough to be an issue.”

  “Smart. You always think so far ahead?” If it were anyone else, she might have thought that was an insult, but his eyes had that sort of mischievous spark to them, and she could tell that he was messing with her.

  “What?” she answered smoothly. “Don’t you?”

  “Fair enough. So, heat lamps it is.”

  Back and forth, back and forth, over and over again, banter flowing like a tennis match. She didn’t win on everything. A few of the things were put on a list for “later,” and a few were just dismissed as not an option at the moment. Strangely enough, she enjoyed the challenge, feeling like her brain was more active then than it had been in ages at the vet’s office. She loved it.

  By the end of the list, they’d come to an agreement on every item, and Elizabeth was utterly exhausted. She hadn’t even done that much, and a quick look to her phone revealed that it was just barely lunchtime.

  “How has it only been three and a half hours?” she asked with what she hoped was a wry smile. “It feels like we’ve been discussing terms of surrender for a decade.”

  “Terms of surrender?” Sterling asked with a chuckle. “That’s one way to put it.”

  She shrugged. “Seemed appropriate considering how much the price tag for this is.”

  “That’s fair enough. Well, since I’m already hemorrhaging money, how about we go grab some lunch? I could use some, that’s for sure.”

  Elizabeth wasn’t sure about that, the corners of her lips pulling down into a frown. “I’m not sure—”

  “Come on, what better terms for peace than a meal to smooth things over? Besides, I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of the sound of my own voice. Stuffing my mouth with food so I don’t have to talk sounds like a much better idea.”

  He had a point. And she didn’t want the feeling with her to fade, so she found herself nodding her head. “Sure. Why not?”

  “Great. We’ll take my truck. Might as well save gas.”

  Elizabeth didn’t say it, but she doubted that Sterling or anyone in his family ever had to worry about saving gas ever in their entire lives. “Alright.”

  They headed back out the impossible maze made of riches that surely no one really needed and then outside down to his truck. She hopped in, wondering if she was crossing some sort of professional boundary, but her rumbling stomach and good mood encouraged her to take the risk.

  He took off, driving more the speed that she was used to from their first meeting, and she thought that perhaps he was taking her to the worker lunch building. But they flew right by the dirt path that led to that, and she recognized the road that led out to the main road.

  “Uh, where are we going?” Elizabeth heard herself ask tightly. She probably wouldn’t have agreed if she had known that they were going to be leaving the premises. Her purse, her ID, everything was in her car, and she didn’t like being separated from it.

  But Sterling seemed surprised by her reaction, giving her an odd look. “We’re getting food. My favorite grill place is in the city. Is that an issue?”

  “It could be.” She took a deep breath. She didn’t need to lose her temper, even if she was being whisked off from her work. “Look, a person’s time is valuable to them, and if you’re planning on doing something that’s going to consume more than three hours, then you should communicate that and get permission. As a courtesy.”

  He didn’t say
anything for a long moment, his gaze returning to the road. They exited the very long driveway and turned onto the main road, not even the radio playing.

  “Sorry,” he said finally, although it sounded like the words caused him physical pain. Like they had to fight their way out of his mouth and into the air. “I didn’t realize.”

  “Thank you. I appreciate that.”

  He nodded, turning up the radio. In the back of her mind, Elizabeth couldn’t help but think that she was lucky that he was so spoiled and just bordering on inconsiderate. It was one thing to look like Prince Charming, it would be another thing entirely if he acted like it too.

  9

  Sterling

  It was a quiet ride into the city and Sterling felt like he should say something, but for the life of him couldn’t figure out what had happened. He’d asked Elizabeth to lunch, she’d agreed, and then apparently, he’d been in the wrong for assuming that she would be alright with going into the city.

  But… where else would they go out to eat? If he just wanted any food or to cook for himself, he would have just said they were going to the kitchen. When Elizabeth explained that he needed to ask, it had made sense, but it had also seemed… really weird. His first instinct had been to tell her that she was being pedantic, or needlessly picky, but something kept his mouth shut.

  That wasn’t something that happened often.

  “So, this is your favorite place, huh?” Elizabeth asked as he parked. For some reason, he’d decided to park instead of using the valet service, leaving them both to walk across the parking lot of the restaurant.

  “Yeah, why?”

  “Well, I’m not sure if I expected something much fancier, or something more hole-in-the-wall.”

  “Nah, I’m not into all of those high-end bistros that serve you two drops of food and call it a meal. A man needs his protein, you know.”