The Rancher Meets His Match (The Millers of Morgan Valley #4) - Kate Pearce Page 0,81
gone?”
Kaiden grimaced. “I hear you. I’m still not sure they can sell the place from under you. Maybe you should talk to another lawyer?”
“I suppose I should. Is Henry still working in Morgantown?”
“Yeah, he is.”
“Then maybe I’ll give him a call. I trust him.” Mr. Evans gave a decisive nod. “They keep telling me this place is worth millions, but I don’t see it myself. Maybe if they try and sell it and can’t, they’ll get off my back and leave me alone.”
Kaiden raised his empty glass. “Here’s to that.” The kitchen door opened and Cameron came through with Julia. “Hey, would you guys like some lemonade? It’s really good.”
* * *
Julia glanced over at Kaiden as they pulled away from the ranch. He hadn’t said much as they’d toured the house, but she’d noticed his hand lingering on the carved finials of the staircase, and his appreciation for the wide, plank flooring saved from the original house, which had been built over a century before.
“Mr. Evans doesn’t want to sell the ranch,” Kaiden finally spoke.
“So I gathered.” Julia kept her tone neutral. “But I understand he has recurrent cancer. His family wants him closer to town so he can get his treatments done, and his eldest daughter can keep an eye on him.”
“So he has to move out to keep everyone else happy?”
“If it makes sense for the family, then yes.”
“You’d make your dad move out of the home he loves if he was sick?” Kaiden asked.
“That’s totally not a fair thing to say. The situations are totally different.” She glared at him, but he kept his profile averted. “Why are you taking this so personally?”
“Why wouldn’t I? Mr. Evans is dealing with exactly the same kind of shit as half the ranchers in this part of the world. And who’s going to buy his ranch? Some billionaire from the Bay Area who wants a second home in the countryside?” Kaiden snorted. “What’s a person like that going to contribute to the community? Nothing.”
Julia had never felt less like walking the corporate line than she did right now. With her father in a similar, precarious position, her sympathies were all with the ranchers.
“Progress and change can hurt people.”
This time he did look at her, and she wished he hadn’t. “That’s it? That’s all you’ve got?”
She raised her chin. “Kaiden, I’m not sure why you’re yelling at me. I’m just the representative of one of several companies that are looking at this real estate opportunity. I’m not single-handedly bringing down the whole of the ranching community.”
He went silent on her and kept it up as they drove back to Morgan Valley.
Great, after asking him to come with her to reestablish their friendship, she’d simply widened the gap and reminded them both of all the reasons why they would never get along. She stared out the window and tried to enjoy the scenery, aware that in a few precious days she would be in her apartment in the city and back at work.
The thought of leaving him tore at her heart.
When they reached her home, he parked and offered her a brief smile.
“Give your dad my best, okay?”
“You’re not coming in with me?” Julia asked.
He raised an eyebrow. “Why would I?”
“To see how the work is progressing, to say hi to my dad?” Julia intentionally didn’t mention herself.
“I’ll check in tomorrow if I have time.”
She reached for the door handle. “Okay, I’m sure you must be tired after having come all that way to help me.”
“As I said, that’s just what we do for our neighbors around here.”
Seconds ticked by as Kaiden drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and Julia studied her hands. For someone who was so keen to leave, he seemed damned reluctant to go. Julia gathered her courage.
“For some reason you seem to have decided that I’m the bad guy in all of this, and you’re obviously still mad at me.”
“Why would I ever be mad at you? I just had the best sex of my life!”
“We agreed—”
He cut her off. “Yeah, we did, so why don’t you just say good-bye and get out of my truck?”
“Because I’m trying to make things right, here. I don’t want—” She struggled to find the right words through an increasing sense of hurt.
“You don’t want what?”
“I don’t want to leave things between us on a bad note,” Julia said. “I . . . wanted today to be about setting things right, not making them worse, and I’m sorry.”