The Rancher Meets His Match (The Millers of Morgan Valley #4) - Kate Pearce Page 0,32

me.”

“Maybe your father is an undercover saint.” Even Julia couldn’t stop herself from smiling at that one.

“Saint Jeff. Patron saint of the perpetually angry?” Kaiden offered. “I kind of like it.” He hesitated and looked down at her. “I was wondering if I might come over and see you today?”

“For what reason?”

He held up his hands. “Definitely not what you’re thinking. I noticed you still have a chicken run at the back of the house. I thought I’d come over, patch it up, and fill it with some of our spare chickens.”

She held his gaze. “Really?”

“Yeah, Juan said he missed having fresh eggs in the morning.”

“He never mentioned it to me.”

Kaiden shrugged. “Probably didn’t want to bother you when you’ve got so much on your plate right now.”

Julia glanced suspiciously back at her father, who was now talking to Jeff Miller.

“If you’re sure you can spare the time.”

“I’m sure.” He stepped back and touched the brim of his hat. “I’ll see you around two, then.”

“With the chickens,” Julia said sternly.

“Got it.” He nodded. “Lots of clucking and definitely no—”

She cut across him. “Kaiden Miller! You just got out of church!”

He turned away laughing, and she returned to her father, aware that her cheeks were heated, and hoped that no one had overheard a word she’d shared with her rogue of a neighbor.

After they got back to the ranch, Juan decided to take a nap before lunch, and Julia went out to the barn to work up a sweat cleaning the old saddles and bridles. On her way, she took a look at the chicken house, which was in surprisingly good shape considering. If Kaiden could fix the fence and the hole in the roof of the wooden structure, she didn’t see why the chickens wouldn’t thrive in there again. Just to make sure, she swept out all the debris from the nesting boxes and perches, and replaced the ground soil.

Even though the sun was shining, it wasn’t that warm, and Julia was glad of it. Midsummer in Morgan Valley, the temperatures could reach over a hundred degrees, and in the winter they usually had snow. Spring was always short, late, quite beautiful, and definitely Julia’s favorite time of year.

As she filled a bucket with water and found the saddle soap, she considered what it would be like to live back at the ranch full-time. She knew she had the ability to run it just as well as Miguel could—maybe even better, but would she want that? And, more importantly, would her father ever trust her enough to let her take control?

After her mother had decided to go back to her home country to practice medicine, Juan’s faith in women had diminished considerably. Until this week, he’d refused to allow Julia any access to the financial records of the ranch, or any say in how the place was run. It was as if he’d been worried that she’d use the information against him, which wasn’t fair at all. She might have her mother’s brains, but her loyalty was to the ranch and her remaining family.

It wasn’t even that her father was unkind to her—he obviously loved her dearly, but he’d decided she didn’t need to bother her head with such things, which wasn’t helpful at all. She dropped the bridle in the bucket, picked up the brush, and started working on the straps. She could run the ranch and make it profitable, she was sure of it. All she needed was a good and reliable ranch manager who would respect her father.

Three hours later, she heaved the last saddle back onto its stand and looked around the tack room. Order and cleanliness had been restored and that made her happy. A good hot shower would easily remedy the fact that she now stank like old leather and was soaked to the skin. She was glad she’d borrowed an old pair of Miguel’s denim overalls and hadn’t ruined her only pair of jeans.

She emerged into the sunlight, groaning as she straightened her back, and walked toward the ranch house. It was weird not having dogs around the place. Her father had always had at least four working dogs as well as the occasional household pet. She shaded her eyes as she noticed a car parked up that definitely didn’t belong to her or Kaiden.

Had the priest arrived early? She glanced down at her filthy clothing. She hoped not. Her father would have a fit if she received a man of God looking