by Kate Pearce
“Hey.”
He spun around to see Julia standing behind him. She wore a baseball cap, her usual fleece, jeans, and boots and looked like she belonged in Morgantown. His gaze narrowed on her face.
“What’s wrong?”
“Why would you think anything’s wrong?”
“Because you look like you’re about to burst into tears.”
“How do you know?”
Mentally, Kaiden sighed. Lawyers sure loved asking questions. He pointed at her forehead. “Because when you’re worried, you get this weird crinkle effect right over your nose.”
Her fingers flew to her face and her eyes widened. “Do I?”
“It’s a definite tell.” He held up his hand. “If this is about what I said last night, I’ll save you the trouble of getting your mad on and apologize without the snark, okay?”
“Last night?” She frowned. “Oh, I’d forgotten about that, thanks for reminding me.” She considered him for a long moment. “How’s your dad doing?”
He grimaced. “It’s complicated.”
“Tell me about it.”
He forced a laugh. “I know.”
“I meant really tell me.”
It was his turn to stare. “I have to do some stuff first.”
“Okay, then do you want to meet somewhere when you’re done?” she asked. “Or, I could just follow you around, and keep you company?”
He gestured at the feed store like an idiot. “I’m going in there and then in the lumberyard.”
“Sounds good to me. I’ve already done my shopping.”
Kaiden began to feel that his day was just destined to be weird all around. His father hadn’t shouted at him, Julia was seeking his company . . . maybe he should go to Maureen’s and get a lottery ticket.
Chapter Twelve
Even as Julia followed Kaiden into the store, she kept surreptitiously pressing on the indentation above her nose. If she wasn’t careful, she was going to have a permanent frown. She couldn’t wait to get home and check it out in a mirror. It was also easier to fret over her frown lines than to wonder why seeing Kaiden standing there right when she needed him had been such a relief. Her conversation with Miguel had left her feeling so frustrated and angry.
By the time Kaiden finished with his purchases and she practiced keeping her face as line free as possible, she was definitely calmer. He turned to her as he finished loading the back of his truck.
“Do you want to come get coffee with me before I go to work at the theater?”
“I’ve already had coffee with Nancy and Beth, thanks, but if you want to get some I’ll wait with you.”
He angled his head to one side. “Why are you smiling like that?”
“I’m just keeping my face in a positive alignment.”
“Jeez, it’s just a little frown line.” He flicked her nose. “Don’t get all bent out of shape over it.”
“I’m not. It’s just that in my business any ‘tell’ is not helpful so I need to stop doing it.”
“Okay.” He started walking again. “I don’t get it, but I’m not going to argue with you.”
“That must be a first,” Julia muttered.
He grinned as he opened the door into Yvonne’s and stood back to let her go past him. “After you, honey.”
She was already scowling before she remembered she wasn’t doing that anymore. As he got his coffee, black with no fancy additions, he was ready to go in less than five minutes. They walked together along the boardwalk and then descended the steps to diagonally cross the corner to the old movie theater.
Julia waited as he unlocked the doors and made sure the space was safe enough for her to venture inside.
“Where’s Wes?” she asked as she inhaled the smell of freshly shaved wood.
“It’s one of his college days.” Kaiden set his coffee down on his workbench. “He won’t be in until tomorrow.”
“So what’s going on with your dad?” Julia asked, obviously surprising him. He’d probably expected her to tell him all her problems and forget about his.
“He hates being stuck in bed, he makes the worst invalid ever, and if someone doesn’t murder him in the next few days, I’ll be very surprised.”
“So, pretty much as expected, right?”
“Yeah.” He rubbed his hand over his jaw. “I had to have a few words with him this morning about his attitude.”
“How did that go?”
He paused. “He didn’t react as badly as I thought he would. I think underneath all the bluster he’s scared, and he doesn’t want anyone to know it.”
“My dad was the same.” She nodded. “They just don’t know how to stop working and take care of themselves.”
“So what did you do to help him get out of that mind-set?” Kaiden asked. “I feel like I’m letting Dad down here.”
“I just kept asking questions, I gave him space to talk, and I tried really hard not to jump in and tell him how he should be feeling.” She shrugged. “It took quite a while to get him to admit that things would never be the same again, but eventually, he worked it out, and adapted. I’m sure your dad will do the same.”
“Eventually.” Kaiden grimaced. “It’s hard seeing him like this.”
“I know. Just remember how much harder it is for him right now.”
He nodded. “Thanks, that was helpful.” He took a tentative sip of his coffee. “So what put that frown on your face this morning?”
She leaned back against one of the sturdy supporting poles. “Miguel finally called me.”
“And?”
One of the things she really liked about him was that he always gave her one hundred percent of his attention.
“He doesn’t want to come back, he doesn’t want the ranch, he doesn’t care that Dad is ill, and he expects me to somehow convey all that to Dad without him having to lift a finger.”
“That’s totally unreasonable,” Kaiden said. “I hope you told him so.”
“I told him he was a coward, and that he needed to come back, face Dad, and tell him straight out.”
“Knowing Miguel, I bet that didn’t go down well. He always had a problem facing up to the consequences of his actions.”
Despite the fact that Kaiden was criticizing her brother, Julia didn’t have the heart to contradict him. She’d spent years making excuses for Miguel’s behavior and she wasn’t prepared to do it any longer.
“It’s not fair for my dad. He deserves better.” Julia met Kaiden’s concerned gaze, and she had to swallow hard. “Miguel suggested he’d wait until Dad was dead, and then he would turn up and sort it all out. I kind of lost my temper with him at that point, and he hung up on me.”
“Shit.” Kaiden moved so fast that Julia was in his arms before she realized it. “It’s a good job your stupid brother isn’t around because if he was I’d be kicking his ass again.”
“You kicked his ass?” Julia looked up at him. “From what I remember, you were the one on the bottom of that particular pile.”
“I was just letting him wear himself out.”
“Or praying my father and I would pull him off you,” Julia said. “And, seeing as he’s special ops now, he’d probably kill you. What was that last fight all about, anyway?”
His face hardened. “You’d have to ask Miguel.”
“Why can’t you tell me? It happened a long time ago.”
With her faith in her brother so shaken, she was actually interested in hearing Kaiden’s side of the story.
“Because it’s not my tale to tell.” He kissed her very deliberately on the forehead. “You’re frowning again.”
“I can’t believe Miguel won’t come back.” Realizing she’d lost that particular battle and more than willing to get back on topic, Julia carried on speaking. “What am I supposed to say to Dad? He’ll be heartbroken.”
Kaiden hesitated. “Can I tell you what I really think, or will you get mad at me?”
“Go ahead.” She sighed. “It doesn’t m
atter if I do get mad at you anyway, it never seems to bother you.”
“What I think you mean to say, Julia, is that you can’t resist my charms, but you do you.” He continued to hold her in his arms, his gray eyes now searching her face. “Number one, I don’t think it’s your job to be Miguel’s messenger. Number two, why doesn’t your dad see you as an alternate who would keep the place together?”
“He doesn’t trust me.” Unable to look at him, Julia stared at the open top button of his work shirt. “He thinks I’m like my mother, that I’ll up and leave whenever I feel like it.”
“That’s . . .” Kaiden let out a breath. “Stupid.”
“Not that my mother did that,” Julia said fairly. “She tried everything to convince Dad to let her go back home to work at the clinic when the ranch wasn’t busy, but he got really stubborn and tried to stop her going entirely.”
Julia fidgeted with the collar of Kaiden’s shirt. “She got so depressed, Miguel and I were really worried about her. The tighter my father tried to hold on to her, the worse he made things. As soon as Miguel and I were old enough to look after ourselves, she gave Dad an ultimatum. Let her go back to Guatemala during our vacation times to practice medicine at her clinic, or she would leave him. He didn’t take her seriously until she refused to come back at the end of the summer.”
“But, what’s that got to do with you?” Kaiden asked. “You’re not her, and from what I’ve seen you’ve basically been holding that ranch together financially for the last few years.”
“Tell that to my dad.” She smoothed a hand over his chest. “He loves me dearly, but he can’t get over his fears, just like he couldn’t with my mother. He’s probably going to leave the ranch entirely to Miguel. He doesn’t think a woman can run it.”
“You could manage that place with one hand tied behind your back,” Kaiden scoffed.
She raised her eyes to his face. “But, I don’t want to run it, Kaiden. I don’t ever see myself being a full-time ranch manager.”
He went still. “Which is your nice way of reminding me that you’re never coming back home, and there’s no chance of us ever having a relationship, right?”
“It wasn’t, but let’s be honest, maybe it needed to be said.” She cupped the hard line of his jaw. “I’m obviously attracted to you, but I can’t offer you anything right now.”
Kaiden raised an eyebrow. “Have I asked you for anything?”
“No, but—”
“You just assumed I would.” Any spark of humor evident in his eyes vanished. “I’m not stupid, Julia.”
“I never said you were.”
She had a horrible sense of the conversation slipping away from her.
“But, here you are, graciously telling me that although you might have the hots for me I shouldn’t get my hopes up because I don’t stand a chance? Like I didn’t know that?” He stepped back with a fake smile on his face. “You set the limits here, okay? Tell me what you want from me, and I promise to abide by your rules. No strings attached.”
“I don’t have any rules,” Julia objected. “I was just trying to be honest with you.”
He retreated behind his workbench, picked up his coffee, and took a sip before looking at her again, but he didn’t speak.
“I’m the one who is confused here, Kaiden,” she said unsteadily. “Not you. I don’t do this kind of thing. I don’t know how to deal with these feelings I have for you. I’m scared that you’ll get the wrong idea, and I don’t want to hurt you.”
“The wrong idea.” He half smiled. “What’s that? Like you’ll settle down here, have half a dozen little Millers while we run the ranch together until Miguel turns up and kicks us out?”
There was a long silence while they measured each other.
“Are you trying to make me smile?” Julia asked incredulously. “After everything we just said to each other?”
He shrugged. “Right now, I think you just need a friend, okay? So why don’t we just stick to that?”
* * *
Long after Julia had gone, Kaiden was still running through their last conversation and rethinking every single one of his answers. He’d allowed her to get him riled up again, but this time he’d just about managed to downplay the effect her words had on him. And, she was right. There was no future for them. But she’d admitted to having feelings for him, and that made him want to cheer. The trouble was—he had feelings for her, too.
“Pathetic,” Kaiden muttered to himself as he tightened up the last bolt in the beam. “She was just trying to be honest with you, as a friend would.”
He needed to keep his hands to himself and try not to remember how she’d felt when he’d had his fingers inside her, his mouth on her skin . . .
“Keep it down.” Kaiden glared at his groin. “We’re at work.”
“Talking to yourself again, Bro? Maybe you miss me more than you realize.”
He looked up to see his brother Ben grinning at him from the doorway.
“I miss you like a fly swarm.” Kaiden came around the bench to give his brother a bear hug and an attempt at a noogie, which was difficult when Ben was built like a linebacker. “Where’s your better half?”
“She’s at the store getting some supplies.”
“And you’re not helping her?”
“I wanted to see how you were.” Ben looked down at his scuffed boots. He wasn’t much better at communicating than Adam. “Like, check in with you, and stuff.”
Kaiden sighed. “You’ve been in LA too long, buddy. All this checking in with my feelings crap has got to stop.”
Ben gave him the finger, which somehow made Kaiden feel so much better.
“Did you come back to see Dad?” Kaiden asked.
“Yeah, and we’ve got some scheduled vaccinations to do at the ranch, which would be too much for Mr. Gomez to handle alone.”
“I can lend you a hand if you need me.” Kaiden looked up at the repaired ceiling. “I’m just about done on stage one of this place. Gotta let the architect back in to decide on the new wiring, floor plans and partitions.”
“It’s going to look great,” Ben said. “And, sure, any help is welcome at the ranch.” He paused. “How are things going with Dad?”
“About as well as you might expect. I had to read him the riot act this morning about disrespecting everyone.”
Ben winced. “How did he take that?”
“He didn’t like being told, but he was surprisingly subdued.” Kaiden hesitated. “I think this is hitting him harder than he expected. He just doesn’t know how to react, or how to deal with it.”
“At least he listens to you.”
“Sometimes.” Kaiden shrugged. “I’m just more direct than the rest of you are.”
Ben nodded. “Because you’re the most like him.”
“I’m nothing like him,” Kaiden protested. “I’m the charming one, remember?”
“Okay, maybe I phrased that wrong,” Ben said. “You’re as straightforward as him, but you don’t choose to express yourself in anger, but use humor to get your point across.”
“Too long in LA, Bro. You’ve finally lost it.” Kaiden sighed even as he noted that Julia and Ben were basically singing the same song. “You should go back and live there permanently.”
“Not happening.” Ben hesitated. “If you think Dad needs to talk to anyone, let me know, will you? I’ll see if we can find him a therapist. He might appreciate the opportunity to share his concerns with a professional.” Ben frowned as Kaiden started laughing. “What did I say?”
When Kaiden finally got ahold of himself again at the thought of his dad meeting a therapist, Ben was still talking.
“Silver was thinking of having a few friends around for dinner tomorrow night. We wondered if you’d like to come, and bring Julia with you.”
“Julia who?”
“Don’t be cute. You know who I’m talking about.” Ben met Kaiden’s gaze head-on. “You’ve always had a thing for her, and Silver thinks
she likes you.”
“Does she now?” Kaiden smiled. “Well, maybe you could tell Silver that while Julia might ‘like’ me she has no intention of sticking around in Morgantown for the duration.”
To his annoyance, Ben just smiled.
“What?”
“You’re just pissed because she’s the first woman in a long time who hasn’t immediately fallen into line and worshipped you.”
“As I said, it really doesn’t matter whether I like her or not.” Kaiden was sick of playing games. “She’s not hanging around for the likes of me, and why should she?”
“That’s what I said about Silver.” Ben was positively smirking now.
“So what?”
“And we made it work.”
“Look, I love you, Ben, but you made it work because Silver has the kind of career and money that can transcend normal problems,” Kaiden said.
“Nah.”
Kaiden resisted the urge to punch his smug big brother. “Wow, that’s profound. What am I supposed to learn from that?”
“We made it work because we learned to trust each other, and our love was strong enough to deal with whatever happened.”
“Man.” Kaiden stared at his brother. “You sound like a cheesy greeting card. If that’s what love does to you, I want nothing to do with it.”
Ben chuckled. “Look, what I’m trying to say is that Silver and I made a pact that we would try our best to make our relationship work however awkward it felt. And, that if we were truly meant to be together, love would find a way.”
Kaiden pretended to gag until Ben thumped him hard on the back.
“It worked, Bro. Look at how happy we are.”
“So you think I should just waltz up to Julia Garcia, look worshipfully into her eyes, and suggest we give our love a chance to ‘find a way’?” Kaiden asked, sarcasm dripping off every word. “Not that we even love each other or anything.”
