by Kate Pearce
“He’s trying to pretend that everything is fine, but I can tell that he’s tense. It would’ve been nice if Miguel had told him whether he was coming back or not.”
Kaiden looked out the window. “His rental is still here, so I’d say that was a yes.”
“That’s good then.” Beth shut the dishwasher door. “Would you like some coffee? I just made a pot.”
* * *
Several hours later, while Beth was in town with Juan at Dr. Tio’s, Kaiden heard the sound of a car pulling up on the driveway. He looked out of the window to see Miguel exiting the vehicle. The driver looked slightly familiar. Kaiden craned his neck to get a better look before picking up a random offcut of wood and heading outside.
He pretended not to be interested in the conversation going on between the two men and he headed to his truck whistling loudly. Even as he got level with the car, the driver abruptly put up his tinted window and drove off.
Miguel waited for him to stow the wood in the back of his truck and come back to where he was standing.
“Who was that you were with?” Kaiden asked. “I didn’t recognize the car.”
“No one you’d know.” Miguel turned toward the house. “Are you going to be up here for much longer?”
“Why do you ask?” Kaiden politely held the door open for his companion.
“Because we’re paying for a housekeeper. If you’re always here Dad doesn’t need her.”
“I don’t have time to do her job and mine,” Kaiden said evenly. “And I think Julia’s paying Beth’s salary, not you.”
Miguel took off his sunglasses. “You seem to know an awful lot about what’s going on in my family.”
“That’s what neighbors do. We support each other.”
“So it’s got nothing to do with the fact that you’ve always had the hots for my little sister? I thought I’d blown that fricking candle out years ago.”
Kaiden shrugged. “You’d have to ask your sister about that. I can’t really comment.”
“I bet you can’t.”
“We’re not in high school anymore, Mig. Your sister is big enough to decide what she wants to do with her life, and who she wants to see.”
“Oh, she told me all about you hanging around.” Miguel’s smile wasn’t pleasant. “Bothering her again. She thought it was pathetic.”
Kaiden smiled and leaned back against the countertop. “See, the thing about Julia is, that if she did feel that way, unlike you, she’d tell me to my face.” Kaiden stared down at Miguel. “And, weirdly enough, she hasn’t, so I’ll wait until I hear from her directly, rather than believe you, okay?”
“You need to get off this ranch, Kaiden Miller.” Miguel squared up to him. “No one wants you here, sniffing around, making my dad all kinds of promises.”
“Promises about what?” Kaiden chuckled. “That the master bath will be finished in three weeks, or that the kitchen will take a bit longer? Give me a break.”
“You’ve always wanted this place, Kai,” Miguel said. “Even when you were a kid you’d come around here, desperate for my dad’s attention because your old man was a complete bastard. And, you still want it now. You think that you can have Julia, and that my dad will leave you the place instead of me. But it’s not going to happen, bro. You don’t get to take my inheritance away from me.”
“Man, that’s some imagination you have there.” Kaiden shook his head. “You know all you have to do is stick around and run this place, and it’s yours. You’ve always had that certainty, and you don’t want it, you never have. You couldn’t wait to get out of this valley.”
“That doesn’t mean that you get to take it instead,” Miguel retorted.
“I never thought it did.” Kaiden walked over to his workbench and picked up his tape measure. “If you don’t want the ranch, then give it to Julia. Let her put a manager in to run it for you.”
“Like she wants it either.” Miguel scoffed. “She’s definitely changed her mind since she found out how much we can get for it. That’s why she put me onto a guy who’s a whiz at maximizing profit from land sales. She knows as well as I do that Dad can’t run this place, and that he’ll want money to fund his health needs in the very near future.”
“What guy?” Kaiden tried to look dumb even as his heart plummeted to his boots.
“Blaine Purvis. He came to see me today to talk about selling the place.”
“You’re going to sell it? Has Juan agreed to that?” Kaiden tried not to sound too shocked.
Miguel shrugged. “He’ll come around.”
“I doubt it.” Kaiden took the pencil out from behind his ear. “If you’ve finished spouting all your conspiracy theories, can I get on? Despite what you think I have other jobs lined up after this one.”
“Actually, I don’t doubt you on that at least.” Miguel stepped back and assessed the kitchen. “I’ve got to hand it to you, Kai. This is quality work.”
“Thanks.” Kaiden returned his attention to his plans. “Juan and Beth should be back any minute now. Maybe you should put some coffee on.”
* * *
On the drive home, Kaiden couldn’t help but replay his conversation with Miguel over and over in his head. The allegation that he wanted the ranch for himself was stupid, but the other parts . . . He had been that needy kid desperate for a father figure Miguel had so cruelly described, but his attraction to Julia had always been separate. He’d just adored her from the get-go.
His fingers tightened on the steering wheel as he allowed himself to face the worst of it. How the hell had Miguel hooked up with Blaine Purvis? He checked the time and made a turn in the road and headed back toward the Gomez Ranch. He needed to talk to someone and he knew Ben and Silver were at their place.
When he pulled up outside the house, he saw Ben riding in on his horse and waved at him.
“Hey, you got a moment?”
“Sure, go into the house,” Ben called out to him. “Silver’s in the kitchen. I’ll be there as soon as I’ve put Calder away.”
“Thanks, Bro.”
Kaiden made his way around to the side of the house, left his jacket and boots in the mudroom, and walked through to the large, warm kitchen where Silver was cooking up something on the range. She wore jeans and a crop top and had her back to him.
“Now, don’t laugh, Ben, but I asked Matilda for her enchiladas recipe, and I think I’ve done a really good job this time.”
“Sounds great!” Kaiden said. “What time’s dinner?”
She jumped like she’d been shot, clutched at her chest, and spun around to face him brandishing the spoon like a weapon and dripping cheese sauce all over the tiled floor.
“Kaiden!”
He smiled properly for the first time in days. “Yup, sorry if I scared you. Ben told me to come right on in.”
“It’s fine!” She looked at the spoon. “Let me just—”
“It’s okay, I’ve got it.” Kaiden ripped off a few sheets of kitchen roll and dealt with the drips. “The dogs will get the rest of it when they come in.”
Silver carefully shut off the gas, poured the sauce over the rolled-up tortillas, and slid the pan into the oven with a relieved sigh.
“I hope it tastes okay. It’s Matilda’s day off so one of us has to cook, and neither of us are great at it.” She glanced at Kaiden. “You’re going to stay for dinner, right?”
“With that recommendation, how could I say no? Do you want me to set the table?” Kaiden asked.
“Sure. I think you know where everything is in this kitchen.”
“I sure do, seeing as I helped you plan it out.”
Kaiden got busy finding glasses, plates, and silverware while Silver worked on a salad and took some garlic bread out of the top oven. He liked the laid-back vibe in his brother’s house, which was a good reflection of both Ben’s and Silver’s personalities.
“When’s your next movie coming out?” Kaiden counted out the forks and knives and set them on the table.
She went over to the huge refrigerator and opened the door. “Would you like a beer?”
“Only if you’re having one,” Kaiden replied.
“Well, duh.”
Just as they clinked their bottles together, Ben arrived with his two dogs in tow. He went over to Silver and kissed her right on the mouth.
“Hey, you.”
She kissed him back. “Thanks for not telling me Kaiden was coming. I almost threw a pan of cheese sauce at him.”
Ben grinned. “I only knew five minutes before you did.” He glanced over at Kaiden. “Did you creep up on her or something? Nice.” He helped himself to a beer and sat down at the table with a sigh.
“Everything okay on the ranch?” Kaiden asked.
“Yeah, we’re doing good. How’s it going at home? Is Dad out working yet?”
“I wouldn’t know.” Kaiden shrugged. “I’m spending most of my time down in Morgantown, or out on the Garcia Ranch finishing Juan’s kitchen.”
“You and Dad still not talking?” Ben frowned. “It’s been weeks.”
Kaiden took a sip of his beer as he considered his reply. “I don’t have anything I want to say to him right now.”
Silver nodded. “I know how that feels. It took me months to want to talk to my dad after he interfered between me and Ben.”
“But, it’s not like you, Kaiden.” Ben sat forward. “You’re usually the one we all rely on to fix things with Dad—to make things right.”
“Well, maybe I can’t fix things for myself,” Kaiden said. “Maybe I’m sick of being that guy.” He tried to smile. “Anyways, I didn’t come to talk about Dad.”
Silver and Ben exchanged a mystified glance.
“What else is up?” Ben asked.
“Miguel Garcia turned up yesterday.” Kaiden set his beer on the table.
“Julia’s brother?” Silver asked. “The one she thinks doesn’t want to run the ranch?”
“The one and only.”
“How was he?” Ben regarded Kaiden intently. “You used to be friends.”
“Not anymore. He’s . . .” Kaiden considered what to say. “Harder, more detached, less easy to read.”
Ben shuddered. “He was always a badass, and if you’re suggesting he’s now worse . . . what does he want?”
“That’s the million-dollar question.” Kaiden paused. “He brought someone up to the ranch with him—someone he didn’t really want me to interact with. He obviously didn’t know I’d already met the guy. It was Blaine Purvis, Julia’s boss at MZB.”
“How does he know Blaine?” Ben asked.
“Miguel said that Julia put him onto Blaine, and that Julia is all in on selling the ranch.”
Silver frowned. “Not the Julia I know. She’s determined to keep the place for her dad and future generations.”
For some reason, hearing Silver say that out loud eased some of the tension in Kaiden’s gut.
“That was my take on it too,” Kaiden said. “And if Miguel has been left the whole ranch, then what would Julia get out of it anyway?”
“He could have promised her that he’d ensure that Juan wanted for nothing while he was still alive,” Silver mused. “She’d probably go for that.”
“But she also knows that Juan doesn’t want to sell the place.” Kaiden sighed. “I wish I knew what that damn will said. It would really help.”
“It’s lodged with Henry in town,” Ben reminded them. “I wonder if he’d let us take a look at it?”
“Not if he wants to keep practicing law, he won’t.” Silver frowned at him.
“Then maybe we plan a heist and steal it?”
“Stop it.” Silver reached over and slapped Ben’s arm. “I normally expect that kind of silly stuff from Kaiden.”
“Thanks.” Kaiden finished his beer.
“Why don’t you ask Julia what’s going on?” Silver looked at him inquiringly.
“Because . . .” Kaiden scraped at the label on his beer. “It’s complicated.”
Ben snorted. “Of course it is. You’re a Miller.”
“We’re kind of not talking to each other right now.”
“Why? Did you have a fight?” Silver frowned. “She didn’t mention anything to me.”
“She tends to keep everything to herself,” Kaiden said. “She’s had no choice.”
“Then why don’t you reach out and be the hero of the hour?”
Kaiden crossed his arms over his stomach and leaned back in his chair. “We’re trying not to do that kind of thing.”
“Why not?” Ben’s brow creased. “You’re usually the first one to speak up about anything.”
“We decided it was for the best for us to just be friends,” Kaiden said. It sounded lame even to him.
“So reach out to her as a friend and ask why her brother who refused to come back to the ranch when she begged him to do so suddenly turns up with her boss!” Silver looked at him like he was a dumbass.
“She knew Miguel was coming back.” Kaiden shrugged. “I guess if Juan wants to share what happened between him and her brother then he’ll go ahead and do that. It’s really not my place.”
“I suppose that’s true,” Silver didn’t sound very convinced.
“Maybe it would be better for Kaiden to wait until Julia comes back here so he can ask her face-to-face.” Ben, who was watching Kaiden, intently spoke up. “She’s coming to the party, right?”
“I assume so.” Kaiden hesitated and then decided to just let it out. “But what if she did introduce Blaine to Miguel? I can’t think of any other way the two of them would have gotten together otherwise. It doesn’t look good, does it?”
Ben and Silver looked at him and any last hope that his suspicions weren’t valid died.
“I don’t get it either.” Silver was the first to find her voice. “But I still can’t believe Julia has changed that much. Maybe Miguel fooled her into making the introduction, and when she finds out what he’s planned she’ll be furious? Or it might have been Juan?”
“All the more reason for you to call her right now, Bro,” Ben chipped in.
Kaiden shook his head. “I can’t do that. I can’t afford to make things worse between us than they already are.”
“Can’t or won’t?” Ben picked up the empty bottles and took them over to the sink. “You were on me like a tick when I was being a stubborn ass about Silver, so why won’t you take your own advice?”
“Because it’s so much easier to give advice than to take it?” Kaiden murmured, and searched for his phone. “I should text Mom and let her know where I am.”
“While you’ve got your phone out you could easily call Julia,” Ben said.
Kaiden sent him a death glare and Ben grinned.
“You came here for advice, Bro. If you don’t like what you’re hearing that’s definitely on you.”
Chapter Nineteen
“So in conclusion, we’ve had an excellent year.” Blaine smirked at Mr. Bashear. “I truly believe that my taking over the leadership role really improved our standards and morale, which were, in my opinion, getting sloppy.”
Julia tried not to roll her eyes as she sat on the sidelines of the conference room in front of the rest of her team watching while Blaine kissed Mr. Bashear’s ass. She’d had an excellent and insightful breakfast meeting with Mr. B earlier, and had come out with more hope inside her than she’d had for months.
From the other side of the room, Melanie applauded as Blaine shut his laptop and the lights came up.
“Well done, Blaine.” She smiled at Mr. Bashear. “I told you he’d do well, didn’t I?”
Blaine was about to rejoin his group when Mr. Bashear stood up.
“I have a couple of questions about your presentation, if I may?”
�
�Sure!” Blaine swung around. “How can I help you?”
What followed was little short of a massacre. Blaine couldn’t answer almost any of the big boss’s pointed questions mainly because he’d had no interest in learning anything Julia had tried to teach him. Whenever he tried to deflect or blame her or the rest of the team, Mr. B refused to accept his excuses. He wouldn’t even let Melanie answer for him. By the end, even Julia was beginning to feel sorry for her archenemy.
Mr. Bashear turned to her.
“Julia, can you help with any of this?”
“Yes, of course, Mr. Bashear.” She gestured to the rest of her team to stand as well. “What do you want to know?”
* * *
Julia waited as everyone except she, Melanie, and Blaine filed out of the conference room and Mr. Bashear beckoned them to come forward.
“Melanie, after watching that debacle do you still stand by your decision?”
“Of course I do. I wasn’t going to mention it, Edward, but Julia has done nothing but undermine Blaine since the moment I put him in charge.” She shot Julia an angry look. “I’m not surprised he didn’t have the ability to answer you today. She probably fed him the wrong information.”
Mr. B turned to her. “Is that true, Julia?”
“I’m not sure how it could be true, sir, seeing as you asked me exactly the same questions you asked Blaine, and I used the information in the report to answer them.” Julia kept her voice and her gaze level.
“That is correct.” The big boss nodded. “Blaine was underprepared.”
“Because Julia constantly turns my team against me!” Blaine spoke up. “She just wants me to look bad!”
“I think you managed that all by yourself, son,” Mr. Bashear said. “I was almost embarrassed by your lack of knowledge.” He looked at Melanie. “And I must confess that I was interested enough in your negative reports about Julia, who happens to be one of my protégés, to check out her credentials, and compare them with Blaine’s.”
Melanie went still.
“Imagine my surprise when I found out that not only did Blaine barely manage to get his law degree, but he happens to be your nephew. Something he didn’t declare on his application. Would you like to comment on that, Melanie?”
