we talked about, and what Miguel said, I just wanted you to be fully aware of what you might be dealing with.”
She sat back and looked at him expectantly.
“You think Julia’s getting some cutback from this company to find ranches to build on?” Kaiden asked slowly.
“She might be.” Silver shrugged. “It might be tied to her work and she automatically gets a bonus or something if she recommends them.”
“I hear what you’re saying, Silver, but I just can’t see Julia doing any of this.”
“I can’t either, but there just seemed to be a lot of coincidences, and I thought you should know all the facts before you see her.” Silver made a face. “You probably think I’m nuts, and that I’ve gotten you all worried about nothing now.”
“No, I get it,” Kaiden reassured her, aware that he wasn’t quite as confident as he might appear on the outside. His argument with Julia over the Evans Ranch remained clear in his mind. “It’s always better to be prepared for anything.”
He got up from the table as did Silver.
“I suppose I’d better go and get ready.” Silver came around to give him a hug. “Ben wouldn’t let me fly in my makeup artist and hairdresser so I’m doing everything by myself.”
“I’m sure you’ll look beautiful,” Kaiden reassured her even as he hid a grin. “When is your family arriving?”
“Oh, they’re already here. Ben’s taken them out to see the improvements we’ve made on the ranch. They should be back any time now.”
Kaiden made his way home, mulling over Silver’s words. Would Julia really be prepared to ignore her father’s wishes and side with Miguel just to get her hands on some money? It didn’t seem likely. She already earned a huge salary—enough to keep Juan at the ranch for the remainder of his life.
He reminded himself that Silver loved a good conspiracy theory and sometimes reacted to things like she was living in a soap opera—which to be fair her life did sometimes resemble. The only thing he could do was ask Julia what was going on—which meant he’d have to talk to her—which meant he’d have to pretend she meant nothing to him all over again.
He parked outside the barn and stared at the wooden slats. He couldn’t let Miguel manipulate his father and his sister out of their home. If Julia didn’t know that Blaine was working with her brother . . .
“How could she not know? She’s the only link between them,” Kaiden spoke the words out loud. “None of this makes sense.”
He should call her right now. He knew it in his soul, but what if she said it was all true and acted surprised that he was bothered about it? Wasn’t it better to wait and ask her to her face? She couldn’t hide from him then, and at least he’d have his answer. He checked the time. She might be traveling back. He didn’t want to call her if she was driving.
“Coward,” Kaiden said as he got out of the truck. “You’re just too chicken shit to call her.”
He went into the kitchen where his mother, knowing their healthy appetites, had laid out some kind of buffet for them to graze on before they got to the big party later. He helped himself to a plateful of food and some coffee, answered all her questions without really listening, and skedaddled to his room to get ready.
Adam had gone to pick up Lizzie and Roman. Danny and Evan were going with Leanne and Jeff, Daisy was with Jackson, which left Kaiden by himself. These days he preferred it that way because the moment he got in a vehicle with one of his siblings, they started nagging him about his behavior. The only person who wasn’t making much of an effort to talk to him was his father, and that suited Kaiden just fine.
He paused as he unbuttoned his shirt. But that wasn’t true either, was it? He kind of missed his dad shouting at him. Jeff Miller being quiet and polite for the first time in his life was not as much fun as Kaiden had expected. But deliberately making his dad mad right now was not what Jeff needed to help him recuperate.
Kaiden spent a while ironing his new shirt, brushing his best white Stetson, and polishing his one and only rodeo buckle and belt. As no one else was depending on him for a ride, he could take his own sweet time turning up at