The Rancher Meets His Match (The Millers of Morgan Valley #4) - Kate Pearce Page 0,1

up close and personal with the hundred-year-old beams.

As the last of the sun disappeared behind the dark forbidding heights of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, Kaiden set off along the county road toward home, mentally cataloguing the chores he’d have to catch up on in order to escape his father’s wrath.

“Who am I kidding?” Kaiden muttered. “He’ll shout at me anyway. He just loves shouting.”

Sure, Jeff Miller had mellowed a bit in the last year since the wife he’d divorced twenty years ago had reappeared. Not that Kaiden had a problem with that. His mom had put up with a lot before she’d finally lost it and walked out to teach their father a lesson he’d failed to learn. Coming back on her own terms to get to know her own kids took balls.

His cell buzzed constantly as he neared home. When he paused to punch in the gate code, he was tempted to throw it out the window. Hoping to avoid his father, he parked on the far side of the drive and took the back way to the barn where Danny usually fed the ranch horses and took care of any stray calves they were hand rearing.

Kaiden loved the calves with their long eyelashes and soft brown eyes. He could always pick out the ones he’d help rear in the herd for years afterward.

“Ha! There you are!”

He jumped like a guilty teenager as his father’s voice boomed out from behind him. Jeff wasn’t a particularly tall man, but for what he lacked in inches he made up in sheer cussedness.

“I got held up by Dr. Tio.” Kaiden had already started on the feed. He knew the routine by heart. “I couldn’t just walk away.”

“Sure you could. We do have phones you know.”

“Yeah, but—” Kaiden didn’t bother to finish the sentence because one thing he knew was that he’d never win an argument with his father. “Excuse me.” He pushed past Jeff and headed into the first two stalls, checking the water and hanging the feed buckets on the wall.

“What did he want?” his dad asked. “He was checking up on me again, wasn’t he?”

“Dad, he only has to look at you to know you haven’t listened to a word he said about lowering your cholesterol.”

“I’ve been eating goddam salad!”

“Only when Mom’s here, and only to impress her.” Kaiden filled another two buckets and kept moving. He was taller than his dad now, and unlikely to get swatted, but you never knew what was coming. “You ate four slices of pizza yesterday.”

“Because I work outside and burn up a lot of calories!” Jeff protested. “What does Dr. Tio know about that kind of work?”

“Seeing as he chose to practice in a town chock-full of ranchers you’d think he’d be quite knowledgeable.”

By the time Kaiden got back with the third set of buckets, his dad had started on the other side of the barn, and they worked together in silence until all the horses were fed.

“How many calves do we have, right now?” Kaiden asked.

“Just the one.” Jeff closed the lid of the feed bin and locked it. “I was wondering whether young Roman would like to help rear him for the 4-H club.”

“That’s a great idea. Did you ask Adam and Lizzie?”

“Thought I’d run it by you first.” Jeff studied his scuffed boots.

Kaiden stared hard at his dad. “Why’s that?”

“Because I’m trying to check in with other people before I get stuff wrong.”

“You are?” Kaiden fought a smile. “Good for you.”

He received a scowl in return. “It’s your mother’s idea if you must know.”

“I’d never have guessed that in a million years.” Kaiden shook his head admiringly. “I was just wondering if you’d fallen and hit your head or something.”

“Get on with you.” Jeff ’s frown returned. “I don’t know why I put up with your crap.”

“Because I can run faster than you now, and you can’t catch me?” Kaiden grinned at his dad. “Or is it that I could saw you in half with one hand tied behind my back?”

Jeff merely grunted and turned toward the exit. “Dinner will be ready in half an hour, so get a move on.”

“Will do.” Kaiden made up the milk formula and shook the bottle as he walked to the end of the barn where the calves were kept. The only occupant of the stall immediately came up to the bars and mooed like he hadn’t been fed for a week.

“Here you go, youngster.” Kaiden braced one booted foot against the bars,

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