talk about Dad.”
Silver and Ben exchanged a mystified glance.
“What else is up?” Ben asked.
“Miguel Garcia turned up yesterday.” Kaiden set his beer on the table.
“Julia’s brother?” Silver asked. “The one she thinks doesn’t want to run the ranch?”
“The one and only.”
“How was he?” Ben regarded Kaiden intently. “You used to be friends.”
“Not anymore. He’s . . .” Kaiden considered what to say. “Harder, more detached, less easy to read.”
Ben shuddered. “He was always a badass, and if you’re suggesting he’s now worse . . . what does he want?”
“That’s the million-dollar question.” Kaiden paused. “He brought someone up to the ranch with him—someone he didn’t really want me to interact with. He obviously didn’t know I’d already met the guy. It was Blaine Purvis, Julia’s boss at MZB.”
“How does he know Blaine?” Ben asked.
“Miguel said that Julia put him onto Blaine, and that Julia is all in on selling the ranch.”
Silver frowned. “Not the Julia I know. She’s determined to keep the place for her dad and future generations.”
For some reason, hearing Silver say that out loud eased some of the tension in Kaiden’s gut.
“That was my take on it too,” Kaiden said. “And if Miguel has been left the whole ranch, then what would Julia get out of it anyway?”
“He could have promised her that he’d ensure that Juan wanted for nothing while he was still alive,” Silver mused. “She’d probably go for that.”
“But she also knows that Juan doesn’t want to sell the place.” Kaiden sighed. “I wish I knew what that damn will said. It would really help.”
“It’s lodged with Henry in town,” Ben reminded them. “I wonder if he’d let us take a look at it?”
“Not if he wants to keep practicing law, he won’t.” Silver frowned at him.
“Then maybe we plan a heist and steal it?”
“Stop it.” Silver reached over and slapped Ben’s arm. “I normally expect that kind of silly stuff from Kaiden.”
“Thanks.” Kaiden finished his beer.
“Why don’t you ask Julia what’s going on?” Silver looked at him inquiringly.
“Because . . .” Kaiden scraped at the label on his beer. “It’s complicated.”
Ben snorted. “Of course it is. You’re a Miller.”
“We’re kind of not talking to each other right now.”
“Why? Did you have a fight?” Silver frowned. “She didn’t mention anything to me.”
“She tends to keep everything to herself,” Kaiden said. “She’s had no choice.”
“Then why don’t you reach out and be the hero of the hour?”
Kaiden crossed his arms over his stomach and leaned back in his chair. “We’re trying not to do that kind of thing.”
“Why not?” Ben’s brow creased. “You’re usually the first one to speak up about anything.”
“We decided it was for the best for us to just be friends,” Kaiden said. It sounded lame even to him.
“So reach out to her as a friend and ask why her brother who refused to come back to the ranch when she begged him to do so suddenly turns up with her boss!” Silver looked at him like he was a dumbass.
“She knew Miguel was coming back.” Kaiden shrugged. “I guess if Juan wants to share what happened between him and her brother then he’ll go ahead and do that. It’s really not my place.”
“I suppose that’s true,” Silver didn’t sound very convinced.
“Maybe it would be better for Kaiden to wait until Julia comes back here so he can ask her face-to-face.” Ben, who was watching Kaiden, intently spoke up. “She’s coming to the party, right?”
“I assume so.” Kaiden hesitated and then decided to just let it out. “But what if she did introduce Blaine to Miguel? I can’t think of any other way the two of them would have gotten together otherwise. It doesn’t look good, does it?”
Ben and Silver looked at him and any last hope that his suspicions weren’t valid died.
“I don’t get it either.” Silver was the first to find her voice. “But I still can’t believe Julia has changed that much. Maybe Miguel fooled her into making the introduction, and when she finds out what he’s planned she’ll be furious? Or it might have been Juan?”
“All the more reason for you to call her right now, Bro,” Ben chipped in.
Kaiden shook his head. “I can’t do that. I can’t afford to make things worse between us than they already are.”
“Can’t or won’t?” Ben picked up the empty bottles and took them over to the sink. “You were on me like a tick when I was being a stubborn ass about Silver, so why won’t you take your own