by Kate Pearce
“Hey.” Evan didn’t look very happy. “What’s with you talking to Sonali?”
Danny shrugged. “My irresistible charm?”
“Ha, ha.” Evan put on his sunglasses. “Like you have any.”
“Obviously you’re wrong because Sonali did in fact bring me a free cup of coffee.” Danny backed out of the space.
He hoped that Sonali’s easy acceptance of his lack of desire for a relationship was as honest as it had appeared. She wasn’t the kind of woman who would cry in public or make a scene, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t messed up. He’d seriously thought about getting involved with her. She was smart, funny, and seemed to have taken to living in Morgantown, which was something of a surprise for someone so outgoing and vibrant.
“I’m not sure you should be making eyes at Sonali when your baby momma is back in town,” Evan said.
“My what?” Danny glanced over at his brother.
“I’m just saying. It’s not fair to Sonali.”
“Like you think I’d do that to her?” Danny asked. “And for the record if either Sonali or Faith heard you talking about them like that they’d kick your ass all the way to Nevada.”
“Jeez,” Evan snorted. “I’m not stupid enough to say anything in front of them.”
“Yeah you are.” Danny turned out onto the county road that led back to the ranch. “Just be glad I’m not going to repeat what you said to either of them.”
Evan settled back into his seat and stared out the window, which meant that Danny could at least drive in silence. Evan got out to open and close the lower gate as Danny drove through.
“Thanks,” Danny said as the truck bounced over the cattle grid.
“You’re welcome.” Evan cleared his throat. “So, just to be clear, you’re not going out with Sonali or Faith right now?”
“Correct.” Danny found a parking space in the crowded yard. It looked like everyone including Daisy, Ben, and Lizzie were at the ranch. “What’s going on?”
“Oh!” Evan checked his cell. “I was supposed to tell you. Daisy wants to talk to everyone.”
Danny shut off the engine, got out of the truck, and was immediately surrounded by a pack of dogs, which now included Roman’s puppy, Splat. He patted all the heads and made his way in through the mudroom where he washed up and brought the shopping through to the kitchen. It was a good job it was so large because it was currently full of his family.
His shopping bags were immediately taken from his hands and the contents put away as he was offered coffee and various other beverages. His father was seated at the table having a conversation with Adam, which involved a lot of finger-pointing to emphasize his concerns. Sometimes Danny was glad he hadn’t been the oldest son who inherited the ranch. Adam put up with a lot of backseat driver advice from their dad and he was always patient about it.
Eventually, Daisy banged on the table and they all stopped talking.
“Hi!” She grinned at everyone. “Jackson and I have something to tell you.”
“Someone bought your startup and you’re a billionaire now?” Evan asked.
“I wish,” Daisy said. “Maybe next year.” She grabbed Jackson’s hand. “This is way more exciting. Jackson and I are getting married.”
“That’s usually why people get engaged, Daisy,” Kaiden, of course, had to point that out and everyone groaned.
“I meant we’re getting married in two weeks right here.” Daisy turned to her father. “I was waiting for Dad to be able to walk me up the aisle.”
“I can manage that,” Jeff said gruffly. “It would be my privilege.”
Daisy’s face softened and she rushed over to plant a kiss on his weathered cheek. “Mom and Auntie Rae will be coming, too.”
“But, I only just got rid of them,” Jeff grumbled.
“We want everyone to be here,” Daisy said firmly. “But we don’t want a big wedding so it will be family and special friends only.”
“Which means it’ll be a big wedding,” Kaiden said, and rolled his eyes. “Have you seen how many people there are crammed in this room right now?”
Jackson laughed. “Not on my side of the family.”
“You’re kidding, right? Your brother is married to a Morgan! That’s half the valley right there.”
Jackson grinned and looked down at his fiancée. “To be honest I don’t care how many people are there as long as I get to marry Daisy.”
All her brothers fake-groaned while the women sighed happily.
“We can manage the reception here, right?” Daisy looked over at her dad.
“I don’t see why not. There’s plenty of space.” Jeff looked around. “It was good enough for me and your mother.”
Silver, Ben’s wife, spoke up. “If it’s okay with you two, Ben and I will deal with the catering. It can be our wedding gift for you.”
“That’s really sweet.” Daisy went over to give Silver a hug. “Yvonne’s already working on our wedding cake and she says she can easily fit us into her schedule if the numbers don’t get too high.”
“We can talk about it later,” Silver said as Ben nodded his approval.
Danny leaned back against the counter, his arms crossed over his chest, and contemplated his brothers and their partners. He loved being part of such a big family, but sometimes it felt lonely. After the debacle with Faith he’d thrown himself into his ranch work and eventually persuaded his father to allow him to pursue an agricultural management degree, which he’d recently completed. He’d been looking forward to taking the ranch in a new, more sustainable direction. Now he was wondering whether putting all his love and effort into a place he would never inherit had been worth it.
Even as that treacherous thought ran through his mind, he instantly rejected it. He had a deep and satisfying life outside the ranch. It wasn’t as if he’d never gone out with another woman since Faith had left. But being hurt so badly so young had really done a number on his ability to trust another human being. He was always waiting for the moment when everything went to shit, and it usually did.
“Danny?” He blinked as Daisy touched his arm. “Are you okay?”
“Of course, sweet pea.” He kissed the top of her head. “I’m really happy for you.”
She studied him seriously. “Do you have anyone special you’d like to bring to the wedding?”
“Not right now.” He smiled at her.
“I thought you were going out with Sonali?”
“Nope. We agreed we wouldn’t suit.” That wasn’t quite accurate, but it would do for now.
“That’s a shame. I really like her,” Daisy said.
“She’s awesome,” Danny agreed.
“Danny . . .” His sister hesitated. “Is this because of Faith coming back?”
Jeez, how many times was he going to have the same conversation? Did everyone he knew think he was incapable of moving on?
“Not at all. We’re good.”
“Adam said you seemed to be getting on really well with her.”
“Because she’s up here doing her job and I appreciate that.” Danny met Daisy’s anxious gaze. “I’m not a teenager anymore and we’re both capable of being civil to each other.”
Daisy went to speak again, and Danny talked over her.
“Can we just drop the subject and get back to celebrating you and Jackson getting hitched? It’s way more interesting.”
“Okay, fine, but you know where I am if you ever want to talk things through.” She went up on tiptoe to kiss his cheek and then went back to Jackson’s side.
Danny waited until everyone was busy chatting before turning away and sneaking out to the barn where he immediately went to check up on the four calves. He wasn’t sure what was up, but he had this sense of being apart from everything—as if he was an outsider—and he didn’t like it at all.
“Hey.”
He turned to see Faith silhouetted in the light streaming through the barn door. She carried her bag and had an old pair of coveralls on
that looked big enough for her brother, Dave.
“Am I too early?”
“You’re good.” He straightened up and waited for her to approach him. “What’s wrong?”
She frowned up at him. “Why would you think anything was wrong?”
“You look like you’ve been crying.”
“Thanks for pointing it out,” Faith said. “Like I needed to be reminded that my eyes are red and puffy.”
“What happened?” Danny knew it was none of his business, but he couldn’t seem to stop himself.
“I guess I owe you an apology.” She looked past his shoulder and half smiled. “I talked to my dad earlier and he flat-out admitted he deliberately kept you away from me in Vegas.”
“He just admitted it right out?”
“Yeah, he was almost proud of himself.” Faith shook her head. “I got really mad with him. He told me not to call back until I was ready to apologize.”
He grimaced. “That sucks all around.”
“You’re being nice about him keeping us apart?” Faith asked.
“I suppose he thinks he did it for the best.” Danny hastily qualified his statement.
“Of course he does.” She sighed. “I didn’t realize how mad I was about everything until he suggested that what we felt was just a stupid teenage crush.”
“It didn’t feel stupid to me,” Danny said, his gaze locked with hers.
“Me neither,” she whispered.
He didn’t seem able to look away as he lowered his head until his mouth met hers....
A shrill whistle made him jerk backward.
“Shit,” Danny muttered as Faith touched her fingers to her lips. “I’m sorry, I—”
Evan came into the barn surrounded by dogs. “Hey, Faith. Sorry you got the short straw and had to deal with Danny. Everyone else in the family is stuck in the kitchen celebrating Daisy’s soon-to-happen marriage.”
“Oh!” Faith backed up a step. “I really didn’t mean to interrupt your family occasion. I can always come another day—”
Danny grabbed her hand. “You’re good. Why don’t you come out and walk the field with me while Evan lets Adam and Dad know you’re here?”
* * *
Even though part of her knew she should just leave, Faith allowed Danny to march her over to the fence-lined pasture. Not only was she interrupting a family occasion, but also she’d let Danny kiss her. If Evan hadn’t interrupted them, she was pretty sure she would’ve kissed him back. Was her father right about something after all? Did Danny still have a strong hold over her?
“So, here’s where we originally gathered the pregnant cows together.” Danny pointed to the left. “It’s a well-drained field on level ground protected by trees from the worst of the wind coming off the mountains.”
Faith forced herself to pay attention to the terrain, her eyes automatically searching for problems.
“I can’t see anything obvious,” Faith said as Danny opened the gate for her and they both went through. “Were the sick calves born close to each other?”
“Not particularly.” Danny had let go of her hand and was now standing a good three feet away staring out at the remaining cattle. “We’re thinking of moving the rest of the herd into the adjacent field just to make certain there isn’t an environmental element to the infection.”
Faith glanced back at the barn, but there was no sign of any emerging Millers.
“Danny.”
“What?”
“Are we going to talk about what just happened?” Faith asked.
“Not if I can help it.”
“So, we’re going to re-create that time-honored Morgan Valley tradition of not talking about things until they blow up in our faces? Because that’s worked so well in the past.”
He turned to face her, his expression guarded. “It was only a kiss.”
“I know what it was, Danny. I was right there.”
“The thing is.” He shoved his hand in his pocket and kicked a loose piece of turf. “I don’t know why I did it.”
She studied him carefully. “I think we’re working through things that we didn’t get the chance to deal with when we were teenagers. Maybe things are going to get a little emotional sometimes.”
He slowly raised his head to look at her, his gray eyes guarded. “Yeah . . . I guess I can go with that.”
“It doesn’t mean anything in the present,” Faith said hastily. “I’m well aware that you’re in a relationship.”
“Who told you that?”
Jeez. Now he looked insulted.
“Um . . .”
“I’m not the kind of guy who goes around kissing other women when I’m in a relationship.”
“You hardly kissed me,” Faith pointed out. “And, it wasn’t that kind of kiss anyway.”
“Yeah, well, we both know that, but everyone else in this damn valley seems determined to misinterpret everything we do together.” He was definitely scowling now. “People ask me about you every single damn day.”
“Which is weird because no one will utter your name in my presence,” Faith retaliated.
He shot her a look. “Really? I’d take that.”
“It’s not fun, Danny. It makes me feel like I’m an outsider, and that whatever I do, I will never belong here again.”
“That’s hardly my fault.”
Faith raised her chin. “Did I suggest that it was?”
“Nope.” He sighed. “Maybe I should just stop talking?”
Faith caught a glimpse of Adam coming toward her and half turned away from Danny.
“Sounds like an excellent plan to me.” She waved at Adam and walked away from Danny. “I’m going to check out the perimeter. Do you want to come with me?”
Chapter Eight
“There are no environmental factors that I can see up at the Millers’. It’s always been an extremely well-run ranch.”
Faith set her coffee down on the desk and faced Jenna and Dave, who were listening intently. They were having their weekly meeting before the clinic shut on Sunday, something she’d initiated to keep everyone up-to-date.
“The lab results should be back soon, and then we’ll have a clearer idea of what we’re dealing with.”
“Okay.” Dave nodded. “So, it’s probably infectious. I haven’t heard or seen any other outbreaks in the valley yet, and we pretty much cover all the ranches in the area.”
“Which is good,” Jenna added. “Morgan Ranch is all clear as well.”
“Jeff Miller wants the answers right now and I can’t blame him,” Faith said. “Sometimes I wish I was like Dad and could just yell at him to settle down and let me do my job.”
“You still wouldn’t win,” Dave pointed out. “Even Dad couldn’t best Jeff.”
“I thought Adam was running the place now?” Jenna looked from Dave to Faith.
“Technically he is, but Jeff likes to be kept informed.” Faith took another slug of coffee. “Any other business we need to discuss?”
“Nothing from my end, and I do need to get going.” Jenna stood up. “I’ve got to pick Maria up from Dr. Tio’s. She’s decided she wants to go into medicine and can’t decide whether it’s going to be human or animal.”
“As long as she doesn’t get confused which clinic she’s in that’s a great idea,” Dave said.
“Okay, thanks, Jenna.” Faith blew her cousin a kiss. “Tell my lovely niece we definitely need more veterinarians in the family and to forget that human medicine stuff.”
Dave seemed inclined to linger, so Faith sat back down again.
“I like the idea of the small pet clinic in town,” Dave said thoughtfully. “Although, it’s not really my thing. People are more willing to part with cash for their pets.”
“And ranchers are notoriously tightfisted,” Faith agreed. “It would definitely help our balance sheets. I’ll talk to the letting agents about finding space in the medical building, and we can go and take a look.”
“Sounds good.” Dave
reached inside his jacket, took out a check, and waved it in the air. “I almost forgot. I got money out of the Morrisons.”
“What?” Faith grinned at him. “That’s a miracle.”
“It’s not the complete balance, but I refused to offer them any more credit unless they paid off some of their five-year bill.”
“Good for you. Now tackle the Brysons.”
“Are they still suing you?” Dave asked as he placed the check on Faith’s desk.
“I haven’t heard anything official.” Faith took the check before it disappeared again. “You?”
“I haven’t seen or heard from either of them all week. As I said, Doug barely manages to run the ranch. He certainly doesn’t have the cash for stupid lawsuits.”
“I feel like I should check in with them, but I don’t relish being insulted again,” Faith admitted.
“Then leave them to sulk,” Dave said. “They’ll be quick enough to come back if they need something.”
Faith finished her coffee and shut down her laptop. She and Dave would cover emergencies until the clinic opened again on Monday morning, but hopefully they would be few and far between.
“Dad called me.”
Faith looked up. “Did he now.”
“He wouldn’t tell me exactly what was going on, but he sure as hell was mad with you. What did you do?”
“Nothing that affects you or the business,” Faith said firmly.
“Was it about Danny? Because he was asking me whether you’d been out to the Millers’ place. I told him about the scours outbreak.”
“I hope that shut him up.”
“Not really.” Dave sighed. “Look, he thinks Danny’s got some weird kind of hold over you.”
“I hope you didn’t encourage him with that ridiculously stupid idea.”
“I laughed my socks off and told him he was way off base.” Dave was watching her carefully. “But you two do have something between you.”
Faith glared at her brother. “Can we drop this?”
Dave held up his hands. “Sure, we can. I just wanted you to know what Dad was saying to me.”
“And I appreciate that.” Faith stood, gathered her stuff together, and came around the desk. “And, if he asks, I have no intention of apologizing for anything I said to him.”