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.