The Rancher Meets His Match (The Millers of Morgan Valley #4) - Kate Pearce Page 0,106
my dear.” Juan sighed. “I have been very remiss and very unfair to you. I wonder if you would consider meeting with Henry to go over my will? I can’t remember what I put in there, and it’s worrying me.”
“If you like, I’ll give Henry a call, and ask if we can speak to him next time I’m home.”
“That’s an excellent idea.” Juan squeezed her hand.
“Speaking of calls, Mom got in touch with me a few days ago,” Julia said gently. “She’d been contacted by someone at MZB asking if she still had any financial interest in the ranch. She originally thought it was me, but after Miley did a bit of digging, she found out that the letter originated from Blaine’s office.”
“Blaine again.” Her father shook his head. “Kaiden told me Blaine was snooping around in my bedroom and he did ask me a few personal questions. Maybe he saw my photographs and worked out that if he wanted to buy this land, he’d have to talk to everyone involved. I’m not surprised Miguel fell for it.”
“I’ll talk to Miguel,” Julia reassured him. “And I won’t let anyone move you one inch off this ranch unless you want it to happen. I promise.”
“Thank you, Daughter.” Her father kissed her fingers. “Thank you for everything.”
Julia settled him back against his pillows, handed him the novel he was reading, and left the room. She couldn’t resist going back to the kitchen to appreciate the gift Kaiden had given them both. He’d mentioned that he always tried to put little references to himself and to the people in the house in his carving. Having seen Ben and Silver’s box up close, she already had a sense of how he did that.
It took her a while, but she found a rolled-up scroll with a ribbon in one high corner that she assumed referenced her law degree, two little faces of a cow and its calf for her dad, and a miniature of Domino, Kaiden’s horse. Whatever happened between her and Kaiden in the future, she would never forget the beauty he had created with his hands for her and her father.
She took her cell out of her purse and sent a text to Miguel.
Blaine Purvis no longer works at MZB so any scheme you hatched with him to get rich quick at Dad’s expense is over.
Seconds later her phone rang.
“What the hell did you do?” Miguel demanded.
“Nothing. My boss’s boss fired him for incompetence,” Julia said. “Just as a matter of interest, did you contact him, or did he contact you?”
“He contacted me.”
“And suggested you plough up your birthright and turn it into three hundred identical boxes which would triple the size of Morgantown overnight?”
“Everyone I talked to in the valley said they needed housing, so I’m not sure what you’re whining about. Blaine said he could cut us both in on the deal.”
“Blaine is a snake. He would never have followed through,” Julia shot back.
“Yeah, he would. I’d make sure of that.”
She didn’t like the hint of menace in her brother’s voice one bit.
“Anyway,” she pressed on. “I wouldn’t have agreed to the sale, and neither would Dad or Mom so you would’ve been outvoted.”
“Weird because Blaine said you would do as you were told if you wanted to keep your job at MZB, and Mom gave up her share in the place to you. Dad would’ve come around eventually. I’m his favorite kid.”
Julia took a moment to process what her brother was saying before she replied.
“I’m kind of shocked at how easily you were prepared to sell your whole family down the river, Miguel.”
“I need the money,” he said bluntly. “I don’t need it tied up in an old-fashioned ranch that will never make a profit.”
Part of her wanted to reason with him, to remind him of all the happy times they’d had at the ranch, and all the love that had surrounded him, but it had never been enough. He’d always found his family and the ranch stifling, and he appeared to have gotten worse.
“I won’t let you get power of attorney over Dad, either.” Even as she regretted all the words she couldn’t say to him, Julia wasn’t backing down. “He’s of perfectly sound mind and can make his own decisions right now.”
“Then it appears we’re at an impasse,” Miguel said. “But don’t get complacent, Sister. I can always find another lawyer. I’m not going to let this go.”
He ended the call, leaving her staring out at the moonlit