The Rancher Meets His Match

by Kate Pearce

  “You love being a lawyer?”

  “I do.” She smiled at him. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

  “Didn’t you shout something at me about hating your job recently, or did I mishear you?”

  “I said that sometimes the . . . people I have to work with are a problem,” Julia tried to explain. “We’ve had a lot of upheaval at work recently. It’ll take a while to get used to the changes in personnel.”

  That was lawyerspeak if ever she’d heard it. She hoped it would shut him up, but knowing Kaiden, he’d find another angle to explore until she finally lost her temper and told him everything.

  Jeff loudly cleared his throat. “We say a prayer before we eat in this house. If you don’t like it, then just keep quiet about it.” He bent his head and pointed at Lizzie. “Do the honors, my dear.”

  Lizzie obliged, and everyone murmured “amen” at the end before the moment of peace was shattered as they all fell on the food. Julia was in danger of losing out before she regrouped and dug in, elbows out, to get her fair share as she fought off the marauding Millers, who had honed their hunting skills in a family of eight.

  The roasted pork was delicious and came from Morgan Ranch; the vegetables were freshly dug up from the Miller garden or bought at Victor’s organic farm on the other side of town. Julia sighed as she swallowed the last of the food on her plate and sat back.

  “That was so good.”

  “Adam’s a great cook,” Kaiden said around a mouthful of food. “And, he loves doing it.”

  “I hate to cook,” Julia confessed. “I had to do it when Mom used to go away, and I always resented it.”

  “Any news of your mom?” Kaiden very carefully didn’t look at her when he asked the million-dollar question everyone in Morgan Valley usually tried to avoid.

  “She’s still alive and practicing medicine at her clinic in Guatemala.” Julia kept her tone neutral like she was discussing the weather, but couldn’t quite resist the urge to punch back. “How about yours?”

  “Still based in New York, but she comes here four times a year now to see us and reconnect.”

  Julia searched his face. “Does that bother you?”

  He offered her an easy smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Why would it? She’s free to do whatever the heck she wants.”

  “If my mom suddenly decided to come back, I don’t think I’d be okay about it.” Julia watched him closely. “And, she went on her own terms.”

  “Whereas mine got kicked out by my fool of a father who refused to let her come back, or have anything to do with us.” Kaiden kept smiling. “She was brave to reach out when she had no idea how she’d be received.”

  “And everyone is just fine with it?” Julia asked curiously. “No hurt feelings or explanations needed?”

  “Your lawyer is showing.” Kaiden suddenly stood up. “Can I take your plate? There’s definitely going to be some dessert.”

  Chapter Six

  He’d let Julia rile him up, and that was not only irritating, but also unheard of. He was the king of avoidance, and he was usually able to deal with questions about his mom without even thinking about it. And, it was his own fault, he’d asked about her mother, and she’d immediately gone on the attack. She was probably just as sick of dealing with questions about Lupita as he was about his mom.

  He rinsed off the plates and stacked them in the dishwasher while Adam gave instructions about the three kinds of pie he was currently about to put on the table. Kaiden obediently got the ice cream out of the freezer and set it beside the bowls on the long table. He gathered up a few more plates and took them over to the sink.

  “Thanks, Kaiden.” Adam briefly looked up from slicing the pies. “Lizzie loves custard on her pie so can you take that jug over to her?”

  “What’s wrong with cream or à la mode?” Kaiden asked. “Who wants to dump warm yellow goo on a good pie?”

  “Don’t worry, she likes them all.” Adam looked over at an oblivious Lizzie, who was busy talking to Roman. “And there are three different pies.”

  “I hear you two were getting into it about Lizzie moving up here again.”

  Adam stopped working. “Who told you that?”

  “Roman.” Kaiden held his brother’s gaze. “He gets worried when you fight.”

  Adam grimaced. None of the brothers were big fans of marital fighting after having lived through the meltdown of their parents’ marriage. “Jeez, I’m really sorry about him thinking that. I’ll try and do better.”

  Kaiden just nodded and moved on. It wasn’t really his place to interfere in his big brother’s relationship, but he couldn’t stand by and let Roman get unintentionally hurt. But, he’d said his piece, and he wasn’t going to labor the point. Adam wasn’t stupid and he truly cared for Lizzie’s son.

  Kaiden sat down again. Julia was chatting across the table to Silver about some kind of skin-care thing that was like listening to a foreign language. As soon as Adam took his seat, Ben got to his feet and everyone looked inquiringly up at him.

  “I’m glad you’re all here today because I want to share some news with you.” Ben put his hand on Silver’s shoulder. “We got married yesterday in Vegas.”

  As the whole table erupted in cheers and whistles, Kaiden’s gaze was inevitably drawn to his father, who sat like a stone at the head of the table with his arms folded over his chest. Jeff definitely wasn’t cheering and Kaiden braced himself for impact.

  Ben was grinning like a fool and still talking, blissfully unaware of the little storm cloud hanging ominously over the brilliance of his day.

  “Silver had some final scenes to shoot in Vegas last week, and we just decided to get married one night without any fuss. We got a minister to come to our suite, and it was all over and done with in ten minutes.” Ben chuckled. “We didn’t even have to dress up.”

  “And you didn’t think to tell your father about this important decision before you got married in front of strangers, or did you just tell the Meadows family?” Jeff asked.

  Ben’s smile dimmed. “We didn’t tell anyone, Dad. We just didn’t want all the fuss.”

  “The fuss.” Jeff stood up. “Well, you’ve made your bed. I wish you well.” He nodded at Juan. “Excuse me while I check the horses. One of my mares is likely to foal.”

  Kaiden glanced at Ben, who looked like someone had kicked his puppy, and immediately caught his brother Adam’s eye. “We’ll have to have a party for these guys, right? So that we can celebrate in style!”

  “Yes, like we did for Jay Williams when he brought back his bride,” Daisy joined in. “That was awesome. Would you like that? We can organize the whole thing, Silver. You won’t have to lift a finger.”

  While his siblings were busy circling the wagons, Kaiden excused himself and went out into the yard, and on to the barn where he found his father leaning over the half-open door of the end stall. Jeff didn’t turn around when he spoke.

  “Still no sign of that foal.”

  Kaiden leaned up against the wall. “That’s because it’s not due for another month, Dad.”

  “They can still surprise you, Son.”

  “Just like people.” Kaiden paused. “Why did you have to be so unpleasant to Ben and Silver?”

  “I wasn’t unpleasant. If they don’t like it when I speak my mind, then that’s on them.”

  “You were rude and ungracious, and you know it.”

  “Who made you the judge and jury?” Jeff swung around to glare at him. “I’m still your father, and I deserve your respect.”

  “You always told me respect was earned.” Kaiden didn’t look away from his father’s irate gaze. “Ben’s happy, Silver’s happy, so what right do you have to blunder in and spoil it for them?”

  “Spoil what?” Jeff looked affronted. “Am I supposed to be okay that my son, the first of my kids to get married, didn’t ask me to his own wedding? I like Silver, I think she’s a good match for Ben! I would very much have liked to see th
em stand up together in front of our family pastor, in our family church, and speak their vows to each other. Is that too much to ask?”

  Kaiden winced as Jeff ’s words rose to a shout.

  “What if the press had gotten wind of the information and the ceremony had been ruined by TV cameras, fans, and gawkers?” Kaiden countered. “Would you have enjoyed that, Dad? Because I can guarantee Silver and Ben wouldn’t have, and it is supposed to be their day after all.”

  “Yeah, well.” Jeff’s gaze turned back to the horse. “Nothing I can do about it now, is there? It’s done. I suppose I’d better call your mother, and let her know—unless Ben has already done that.”

  “You’re hurt, aren’t you?” Kaiden stared at his father.

  “Don’t be ridiculous, Son.” Jeff avoided his gaze.

  “I think I’m finally figuring you out. All this shouting is because you’re actually upset, and the only way you know how to show it is by yelling and making everyone else miserable.”

  “Balderdash.” Jeff slammed the upper door shut and shot the bolt in place. “Don’t tell me how I feel, Kaiden Miller. I have enough of that from your mother.”

  “Who would be extremely annoyed with you right now for going super negative on Ben, who is definitely her favorite kid.”

  “All right!” Jeff scowled at him. “If you’ll just stop yapping your mouth off, I’ll go and be nice to Ben, deal?”

  “And Silver,” Kaiden said firmly. “Don’t forget her.”

  His father stomped off in the direction of the house muttering to himself, and Kaiden stayed where he was.

  It occurred to him that Julia had a similar way of dealing with her problems. She got mad first, and offered more nuanced explanations later. Perhaps after all those years of dealing with his dad, he understood where she was coming from and didn’t let it put him off. Whatever she said, things definitely weren’t good at her job, and he wondered why. Not that it was any of his business, but he’d always been the curious type.

  Just as he was about to go back in to make sure his dad was behaving himself, he heard Julia’s voice coming toward him and instinctively went still.

  “Look, Melanie, I assure you that I’ve done everything you asked me to do.”

  He eased himself back into the shadowy corner and realized she must be on the phone and walking toward him.

  “No, that’s not . . . No, I can’t fly back for Monday. There’s no one to look after my father.”

  There was another long pause.

  “It isn’t a question of money, Melanie. It’s about my responsibility to care for the people I love. If you can’t see that, I’m sorry, but I don’t know what else I can say to you. Miley knows all about the case, she has offered to help, and that should solve any issues that might arise on Monday.”

  Kaiden tensed as Julia’s voice grew louder. She was almost through the door now. He jumped as she kicked the doorframe hard.

  “Sure, Melanie, you promoted him, so why are you in such a panic now? Regretting your decision? Afraid he’ll make you look bad in front of the other senior partners when I’m not there to prop him up?”

  Her gasp when she finally noticed him made him grin. He pointed at her phone.

  “You didn’t actually say that last bit to her, did you? Because if you did, you’re probably going to need a new job. I hear the Garcia Ranch are looking for a manager.”

  She slammed a hand over her heart and gaped at him. “What the hell are you doing here?”

  “Just checking out the horses.”

  “And spying on me?”

  “Hey.” He raised an eyebrow. “I was here first.”

  “You—” She shook her head. “You’re right. I’m the one who is intruding. I’ll turn around right now.”

  Kaiden frowned. “Backing down so fast? What’s wrong with you? That Melanie lady must’ve really rattled you.”

  “She’s one of the senior partners at my law firm.”

  “So not someone you want to piss off,” Kaiden commented as Julia looked down the length of the barn and anywhere except at his face. “Are you going to fly back on Monday?”

  She turned on him, her hands now on her hips. “Kaiden, has anyone ever told you it’s rude to eavesdrop on other people’s private conversations?”

  “Sure, all the time,” he said easily. “But sometimes you hear such good stuff that you can’t help but comment on it.”

  “You are . . .” She sighed. “So annoying.”

  He nodded gravely. “You’re not the first person to mention that.” He waited a beat before continuing. “What’s going on?”

  Her mouth settled into a now familiar stubborn line. “What if I just say it’s none of your business?”

  “I’ll just keep bugging you until you tell me.” He shrugged. “It’s what I do.”

  “I am well aware of that.” She took another turn around the barn before finally swinging around to face him. “My new boss has to present a case to the senior partners, and the clients on Monday, and he’s panicking because I’m not there to hold his hand.”

  “What’s that got to do with Melanie?” Kaiden asked.

  “She’s the one who promoted him, and she doesn’t want to look bad at the meeting if he isn’t sufficiently prepared.”

  “Makes sense I suppose.” Kaiden nodded. “No one likes looking stupid.”

  “You think I’m at fault here? That I should get on that plane?” Julia asked.

  Kaiden concealed a grin. There was his fighter coming back off the ropes.

  “I didn’t say that. If I was going with my gut here, I’d guess that you should’ve been the one doing the presentation in the first place.”

  She stared at him for a long moment. “Correct.”

  “He took your job?”

  “He was given the promotion over my head, yes.”

  “Fools.” Kaiden slowly shook his head. “They should have given it to you.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Because I know you, and I know that you always strive to be the best. I bet you did all the work as well.” He held her gaze. “Melanie should take a hike.”

  She walked slowly toward him and he tensed. “What’s wrong?”

  She framed his face with her hands, went up on tiptoe, and planted a smacking kiss right on his mouth.

  “Thank you.”

  He blinked at her. “You’re welcome. What did I do?”

  “Validated my decisions.”

  “I did?” She went to step away and he curved an arm around her waist. “Not so fast. Now that you’re here, right where I want you, how about you kiss me again?”

  Julia gazed into his familiar laughing gray eyes and placed a hand on his chest.

  “I don’t think—”

  “Then don’t.” He kissed her nose, his voice so low that she had to strain to hear it. “Just go with the flow.”

  “That’s not who I am,” she muttered even as she leaned into him, enjoying the hardness of his frame and the subtle curve of his lower lip. “I’m way too uptight for this.”

  “You seem to be doing just fine to me.” He traced the seam of her lips with his tongue and her knees turned to Jell-O.

  With a ragged sigh, she gave in to the physical, and pressed her lips to his, enjoying his growl of appreciation as their mouths met and clashed. Seconds later her hand was in his hair, and he was palming her ass, bringing her as close as possible to the hard bulge in his jeans.

  Man, he was a good kisser . . . Julia let herself drown in the release of emotions, aware that she wasn’t thinking straight, but too frustrated to care. There was no way she was getting on a plane tomorrow so that she could attend that meeting on Monday.

  Her cell buzzed, and she tensed up and eased away from Kaiden, who groaned.

  “Can’t you ignore it?”

  “Sorry.” The fact that her whole body was humming and singing hallelujah was good enough reason to stop. She took out her phone and read the text.

&nb
sp; “Melanie is not happy with me.”

  “What’s new?” Kaiden leaned back against the stall door and rubbed his fingers across his mouth as if still tasting her. He held out his hand. “Come back here.”

  “I think we’ve done enough kissing for one day,” Julia said.

  “There’s never a quota for kissing, honey.” His smile was an invitation to sin.

  “There should be one for you.” Julia patted her hair. “And, don’t call me that.”

  His smile widened into a grin. “Honey? Do you prefer darlin’ or babe, or—”

  She marched over and placed a finger over his mouth. “Stop talking, now.”

  His tongue snaked out and curled around the tip of her finger making her want to climb him like a tree.

  “Stop that,” Julia said severely.

  “Are you sure, honeybun?” Kaiden kissed her hand and released it. “You look like you need a lot more kissing to me.”

  “But kissing leads to other things, and I am not, I mean, I will not be doing those things with you, Kaiden Miller.”

  He waggled his eyebrows at her. “Never say never, honey pie.”

  “Go away.”

  “I live here,” Kaiden reminded her.

  “Then I’ll go.”

  She started for the door, and he gently took hold of her elbow and turned her around.

  “Other way, unless you fancy walking home?”

  She shook her arm free, and he let her escape him, enjoying the swing of her hips and the straightness of her spine as she marched away from him.

  He liked kissing her. In fact, if she hadn’t pulled away he might have been urging her into one of the empty stalls, and laying her down in the nice, fresh straw, and . . .

  With a groan, he glanced down at the front of his jeans. He couldn’t go back in to the house just yet. A slow stroll around the paddock into the gathering wind might help cool him off a little and remind him of all the reasons why getting involved with Julia Garcia was a bad idea.

  But, whatever she said, she was in trouble, and something about that didn’t sit well with him. If she needed his support, then how could he possibly not help her out?