Brothers of Miller Ranch Box Set

by Natalie Dean

  She was dancing with one of his cousins, a young boy of five or six who knew exactly how adorable he was. The woman was bordering on tall with her heels, and cut a slender, feminine figure in her bridesmaid’s dress.

  He hadn’t noticed her during the ceremony, but maybe that was because he hadn’t been paying much attention. He’d been texting one of his hookups, trying to arrange for something once he jetted from his familiar obligation, so sue him.

  Interest rising, Bryant crossed over to them, dodging hicks and rednecks alike who definitely had no idea that his suit cost twelve thousand dollars. He knew he probably shouldn’t have worn one of his designer suits at an event where no one had the class or tact to be appreciative, but he had a brand, and that brand was being covered in name brands. He couldn’t bring himself to wear something off-the-rack.

  Finally, he reached the two without any moonshine being dumped on him and bent down, offering a dollar to the little guy.

  “Hey, why don’t you let me cut in?”

  The kid looked at the dollar like it might as well have been a cool hundred, and snatched it, jetting off with practically a lane of fire after him. But when Bryant straightened to turn his charm onto the woman, she just fixed him with a polite smile.

  “Thank you for the break. My feet were really starting to ache, but that boy is just too adorable to refuse.”

  She was even prettier up close, but in a way that he wasn’t used to.

  Now that he was closer, he could see that she was at least partially some sort of Asian, with her almond-shaped eyes and heart-shaped face. She was pale, incredibly so, and her long hair was done up on top of her head in a neat bun surrounded by complicated looking braids. She wore makeup, but only a slight amount. Just enough to let you know that she had indeed dressed up for the occasion but wasn’t much interested in wearing a full face.

  Before Bryant could put together a proper name for whatever look she was giving off, she turned on her low heel and crossed to one of the closest empty tables.

  Well, that was strange.

  While he knew that some of these people weren’t exactly fond of him, that they prayed over his lost soul, he wasn’t used to people having such a blasé reaction to meeting him face-to-face. Usually they either compensated for their mean thoughts by being overly nice, or they outright demanded that he apologize to his parents and return to the fold.

  Without his mind processing it, he followed her, sitting in the seat next to her at the table. She didn’t seem to pay him any mind, using one of the napkins to blot at the back of her slender neck.

  There was a strange sort of… fragility to her. She was thin, bordering on waifish, like a nymph or dryad that wasn’t supposed to be seen by men. Was she some sort of fainting rose? A delicate little princess who never had to work outside? Not his usual type, but she was stunningly beautiful and at the moment, that was enough.

  “Hi, I’m Bryant,” he said, sliding his hand across the table to her.

  The woman looked at his offered limb, set her napkin down, and gave him that same sweet, polite smile.

  “I am well aware of who you are, Bryant Miller.”

  Ah, so she was playing coy, was she? Now that was something he knew how to deal with. He leaned in slightly, just enough for there to be an air of intimacy but not enough that he was invading her personal space. But as he moved closer, he caught the faintest scent of something lovely. Melon and some sort of flower maybe, sweet and soft and refreshing. Was that her? His mind went to unholy places. Maybe, if he played his cards right…

  “Oh, does my reputation proceed me?”

  “I highly doubt you’d go anywhere if your reputation wasn’t already there, making introductions for you.”

  “And you know so much about my life?” Who was this woman? Bryant realized that she was definitely no wilting flower.

  She stared at him, calm and pleasant, but there was an underlying steel to her. Bryant thought it would do him well not to underestimate her.

  And that thought sent a strange sort of thrill through him.

  …that was also weird.

  “Well, I do have access to a computer with a search engine, despite what you may think of us small-town folk.”

  “Glad to know that Blackfish County has made it into the twenty-first century.”

  “Yes, considering the difficulty that many rural areas have with getting stable internet, we certainly are blessed.”

  “Ah, so political, are we?” Bradley asked as he leaned in a little more. “Or do you just have a special place in your heart for Wi-Fi?”

  “Isn’t there a phrase for this?” the woman replied, the tiniest, tiniest of smirks curling the corner of her pinkish lips. “Never discuss politics, sex, or religion at a wedding?”

  “Well, I’ve never been much for rules.”

  “So I’ve heard.”

  Bryant chuckled, resting on his elbow. “You seem to know so much about me, and yet I know so little of you.”

  “Because you ask so little of me.”

  “Fair enough. What’s your name, beautiful?”

  “Keiko,” she answered before affixing him with a steadier look. “And may I ask you a question?”

  “It’s only fair since I’ve been asking you all of them.”

  “What is it about your family that makes you want to get back at them so much?”

  “Pardon?” Bryant asked, blinking at her. He expected some inquiry to any one of his borderline legendary exploits. Or a whispered request of if what they said was true about him. But she skipped right over that and headed straight towards something he hadn’t anticipated at all.

  “It would be one thing if you were just living the way you want to and they happened to disagree—although I know that’s a part of it—but you like coming here, and you like doing things you specifically know will bother them. You enjoy telling your brothers about your escapades or making sure they somehow find out.

  “That doesn’t just come out of nowhere. You’re paying them back for something. A misdeed, or maybe even a series of misdeeds. So what I’d like to know is, what exactly set you off, all those years ago?”

  Bryant stared at her, blinking slightly. No one had ever asked him anything remotely along those lines. He wasn’t sure anyone would even know to, but she was just sitting there, looking at him with that same polite disinterest.

  “Ah, I see that I might have overstepped. In any case, it was nice meeting you, Bryant.” She dipped her head then headed back to the wedding party table, leaving Bryant to watch her as she exited.

  …who was that woman?

  2

  Keiko

  She could feel his eyes on her for the rest of the reception.

  Keiko certainly hadn’t meant to come face-to-face with the youngest Miller son, the one she had heard so many stories about that she had almost wondered if he was real or some sort of legend like Big Foot. She’d seen him maybe in passing at a family get-together or two, but nothing substantial.

  To be completely honest, she found the whole idea of the Miller prodigal son fascinating. As far as she could tell, the Millers were some of the most honest, accepting, and loving people she’d ever met. And even though their disappointment in Bryant was clear, none of them seemed to hate him. She always wondered what it would be like to pick the brain of someone who was so determined to defy everything good that he was surrounded by.

  But what she’d never expected was for him to walk right up to her and ask her for a dance.

  She supposed stranger things had happened, but she was hard-pressed to think of any as he looked at her with those patently intense Miller eyes and smooth grin. He was different than his brothers. Less rugged, more polished and classy, but there was also a sort of… a hunger to him.

  His essence crawled up her spine and licked out over her brain. A couple of words from him was all it took for her to confirm that she was looking at a man who didn’t know what it felt like to be satisfied. To be happy. He
was a life-junkie, always chasing the next thrill, the next challenge, the next chunk of pleasure to numb himself until that hunger came rolling back in.

  The life-junkie hunger wasn’t exactly a foreign feeling to her. She knew how that endless cycle could be, caught in a wheel that was constantly spinning, dying to find something that would give a moment’s relief. But she knew where her issues stemmed from; the question was, what had started Bryant on that path?

  But then she’d realized that perhaps her best friend’s wedding was not the appropriate venue to dissect whatever made the man in front of her tick, so she’d dismissed herself as politely as she could.

  And yet his eyes stayed on her.

  She was used to blatant staring. She and her mother were the only Asians in their entire town and one of a handful of people of color. Keiko was also aware that she was aesthetically pleasing enough to warrant a few turned heads, and then add on top of it her role in the church… Well, that definitely had allowed her to grow acclimated with people letting their gaze linger for too long.

  But this Bryant fellow’s attention was different. His stare was intense—as most of the Millers were when they were focused. His gaze was like a tangible pressure across her entire body that made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. But it wasn’t aggressive. Otherwise, she would go over to him and say something. No. It was just… curious, in a way. But also relentless.

  “Thanks for holding the baby in until after the ceremony.”

  Keiko shook her head, bringing herself back to the real world to see Dani was leaning towards Chastity, who was leaning back in her chair and rubbing her very distended stomach.

  “Oh, I don’t know,” the darker-skinned woman said. “I still have an hour or two to crank this little guy out.”

  “Oh please,” Missy said with that drawl she only used when she was particularly relaxed and happy. “Like you would ever ruin this outfit by breaking your water all over it.”

  Chastity turned ashen, which wasn’t like her, and pushed her plate away. “All right. New rule. No talking of any bodily fluids around the very pregnant lady.” She groaned and let her head tilt back, her dark, dark hair tumbling down to almost touch the floor. “And also remind me to never get pregnant again.”

  Keiko couldn’t help but grin at that. While it had certainly been an interesting experience being with Chasity through her entire pregnancy, it had definitely enforced her decision to never, ever have children biologically. Sometimes, when she was especially tired or stressed, it felt like she barely had control over her own body. She couldn’t imagine if some little mini-human lived inside of her, making her do things she didn’t want to or had no control over, like spontaneously losing her breakfast or gaining so much weight.

  Keiko blanched at that and looked down at her own, unused plate. She had been so busy dancing and having fun that she hadn’t tried any of the catering yet. And she really should. The best way to stay healthy was to have a routine, and her routine involved four to five small meals a day.

  “Well, I don’t know about y’all, but I could still use some grub.” Missy looked to Keiko. “Wanna come up with me?”

  Keiko felt a warmth flow through her. Missy knew exactly what she was doing, and Keiko appreciated her for that.

  One of the most difficult things about being in recovery from an eating disorder was the utter lack of motivation to feed herself. Especially since food’s textures and smells could be… off-putting. But if her friend was asking her to accompany them to get food, suddenly the whole thing grew easier. Dani called it the care-giver override, and Keiko had to agree with the sentiment.

  “Oh, while you’re at it, will you get me a rib and some okra?” Dani handed over her plate.

  Keiko took it gratefully. She always did best with a task to complete. Kept her mind in order and her anxiety at bay.

  “Of course.”

  She and Missy walked over to the table, grabbing what they wanted. Despite the tall girl loading up her plate with a truly shocking amount of food, she didn’t make a single comment on what Keiko chose to eat, and that was a relief in and of itself. For someone who never struggled with an eating disorder, Missy certainly seemed understanding.

  Then again, maybe it was all her experience with Bart. Not that PTSD and anorexia were all that related, but still, both were mental disorders that made people hurt themselves. Or maybe Missy was just really good with taking care of everyone. Either way, Keiko was grateful.

  Her entire life, her only friend had really been Dani. Someone whom Keiko had fiercely admired ever since they were young. When they had first met, Keiko had thought the robust girl was everything that she herself wasn’t, and she so desperately wanted to be more like her. She liked to think that she had done a pretty good job so far, but she had such a long way to go.

  It didn’t help that most people seemed to think of her as some sort of permanently gracious pillar of calm. If anything, she was constantly brimming with energy and anxiety that she was always trying to reason out and suppress.

  And that was exhausting.

  The pressure to appear perfectly fine was one of the reasons she volunteered so much at the church. Helping others and giving acts of service was one of the few things that gave her peace outside of her small circle of friends. She found it was easier to feel the presence of God there, to rely on his hand and guidance.

  If only that feeling could last beyond the church doors.

  She supposed it might help if she was more open about her struggles, but she so often found people judgmental and closed off. After all, how much had Dani been bullied even into her adult years? And from what Keiko had heard, Missy had fared even worse. Even Chastity, the sweet and beautiful girl that everyone seemed to admire, got all sorts of hateful comments online. The haters would tell her to go back to her country or be surprised that she spoke English so well. The irony of telling a Native American woman all that was lost to the anonymous faces of the web.

  No. She was just fine with only her girlfriends, her parents, and her therapist knowing.

  She rejoined the table with Missy right beside her, sliding Dani a plate with exactly what she asked for. The bride flashed her a grin, but only got to take about a bite or so before her new hubby insisted she get up and dance with him for what was apparently “their song.”

  The gesture was beautifully sweet and saccharine in that perfect way that Keiko had always thought was silly. Then again, romance had never been much of her thing. Between her journey with mental illness, education, and her time with the church, she didn’t have time for much else.

  “Isn’t it sweet?” Missy said around the entire chicken wing she had in her mouth.

  Keiko had seen the trick plenty of times before, but it was still something else to watch the blond draw it out of her mouth with all of the meat gone.

  “Now we just have to get you a nice boy, Keiko.”

  Her stomach twisted at that, objecting to the wrongness. “I’ve never felt that I needed a relationship to be whole. Besides, I have far too much to do as it is.”

  Surprisingly, it was Sophia who raised her eyebrows and leaned in. It seemed with every month the newest woman to join the Miller household was becoming more and more of the person she was created to be.

  “Like what?” Sophia said. “Afraid the parishioners are going to perish if you’re not there to shepherd them to the coffee and bagels?”

  She knew the young woman was just teasing, but it did hit a touch of insecurity in her. “I don’t know, to be perfectly honest. I just feel like God has something in store for me. A test maybe, or a challenge. Or… something.”

  “That’s not very specific.”

  “It’s not supposed to be,” she answered with a wan smile. While some people might interpret Sophia’s forthrightness as rude, Keiko knew that she had spent so much of her life just barely surviving that she had to learn all sorts of things that most people took for granted. Especially when it came to faith, s
ocial cues, or finances.

  Keiko continued, “That’s part of it. The journey can be half of the challenge, and that’s the beauty. But I’m determined to be ready for the challenges God sends my way once I do find them.”

  “Huh.” Sophia sat back in her seat, fidgeting in her dress. “I’m not sure what to think of those excuses.”

  “That’s all right.” Keiko took a bite of the mashed potatoes and tried not to wince as her tongue hit a chunk of unwhipped spud. Textures set her off so easily. “I know exactly what I think about them. And I’m perfectly okay with it.”

  3

  Bryant

  Bryant was bored, so bored, so he did the only thing that made sense to him.

  He drank.

  His family would be angry if they knew about his secret flask of alcohol. But that didn’t stop him. Their opinion of him never did. After being cut off by his family at the ripe ol’ age of nineteen, Bryant Miller had built up a fortune of his own, and in the next few years or so his brand’s worth was set to exceed his family’s. Of course, they were too traditional and set in their ways to appreciate his particular brand of genius.

  But when he wasn’t drinking, or eating, he was watching the woman who had said all that to him. She was wrong, of course. She knew nothing about him. She was some Bible-thumper who got all of her money handed to her by someone else and probably only knew about him from tabloids. She wasn’t anyone important. She’d never been in a magazine or featured online as an up-and-coming billionaire.

  And yet… he was still staring.

  She had to know he was. He made no attempt to hide it, because why should he? But she completely ignored him.

  He wasn’t used to being ignored.

  So he drank more, trying to occupy his time until he could leave. The reception seemed to be taking forever, but it was probably because the backwater people of their small town had so little to look forward to that they had to draw out every party like it was their last.

  “Hey, Bryant. Can we talk?”