Sweet Talking Rancher Read online

  “Yes, he is,” Faith agreed. “Hopefully, once I start working here and they get to know me again, they’ll change their minds.”

  “I guess so.” Dave didn’t sound very optimistic as he straightened up and walked out into the office. “I’m just going to check on my two patients out back. I’ll meet you out front.”

  “No problem.”

  Faith went into the main reception area, which was painted a pale blue and green. There were cheerful posters on the walls, and someone had attempted to set up a puppy play corner, but the whole area looked desperate for a makeover. The rest of the staff had gone home while she and Dave were taking stock of their new venture. If Faith agreed to take on the practice, her father and mother would be off on their long-anticipated golfing tour of Europe. Given the choice, she wasn’t sure they’d ever come back to stay for good. But, as they’d helped pay for her to attend veterinary college, supported her decision to stay away from Morgan Valley, and never made her feel bad about any of it, the least she could do was help her brother maintain and develop the family business.

  If she got it up and running and financially secure, in a year or two Dave would be able to handle it himself if he took on another vet to replace her. It was always good to have options and a backup plan.

  She glanced out the window toward the parking lot and the spectacular view behind it. Leaving Morgan Valley had been a terrible wrench, and some small part of her, the little girl who’d grown up wild and free in the fields, was delighted to be home. The rest of her—the part formed by her decision to leave—wasn’t so sure.

  She let out a breath. Somewhere out there, after a hard day on the ranch, Danny Miller was probably about to have his dinner. From the snippets of information dropped by her parents and friends over the years she knew he hadn’t left home. Like her, he’d had big plans to leave Morgan Valley. Had what had happened between them stopped him from going to college? Faith sighed. Another thing to feel guilty about, like she didn’t already have enough.

  “You coming, Sis?” Dave said from behind her. “Mom’s cooking her famous vegetarian lasagna for dinner, and Jenna and her family are coming over to join us.”

  “Yes.” Faith cast one last glance over in the direction of Miller Ranch and then turned to her brother with a smile. “I can’t wait to finally meet Jenna.”

  “She’s awesome.” Dave’s affectionate grin was more relaxed than it had been earlier. “She specialized in horses so she’s a perfect fit for their dude ranch.”

  “So, she doesn’t take work away from us?” Faith waited as Dave checked all the doors and locked up.

  “Not at all. Actually, we kind of work in tandem. Sometimes I’ll help out up there with the rest of the livestock, or she’ll inoculate cattle for me on the other ranches. When we get to calving and lambing season, we are both flat out covering the whole valley.” He winked at her. “Which is why I’m glad you’re back because Dad made me take all the night shifts.”

  “You think I won’t make you do the same?” Faith asked sweetly.

  “Didn’t you just say that we’ll be equal partners?”

  Dave walked across the parking lot to his bashed-up truck, reminding Faith that she needed to get her own form of transport as soon as possible. Her all-electric car wouldn’t work on the rocky slopes and unpaved roads of Morgan Valley.

  Just before they left, Dave took a last look around and then whistled for his dog, Lilo, who bounded out of the encroaching darkness and leapt nimbly into the back of the truck. The family house wasn’t that far from the original homestead, but it was uphill all the way. Faith had walked down, but was glad Dave was bringing her back in the truck. The copse of pine trees behind the new house swayed in the breeze. Faith had forgotten how cold it could get in the evenings after the sun disappeared behind the mountains and wished she’d worn her thicker coat.

  Light flooded out from the stone and wood structure her father had designed as his new family home. Having grown up half in the cramped century house of the clinic and half in the expansive new one, Faith had nothing but good memories of the place until her senior year had crashed and burned so unexpectedly. When she got out of the truck, she stood still for a moment to take in the scent of pine and some kind of blue flower her mother had planted along the pathway to the house.

  There was an unfamiliar truck parked alongside her electric car that she guessed belonged to Jenna and her husband, Blue Boy Morgan. She remembered BB from school as a sweet-talking daredevil and hadn’t been surprised to learn that he’d gone straight into the military. From what she’d heard about her cousin Jenna she couldn’t quite imagine how their relationship worked, but she’d learned to her cost that marrying someone just like you didn’t always work out either.

  “Is that you, Faith?”

  She looked up to see her mother, Amy, silhouetted against the light streaming from the open front door.

  “Yes!” Faith fixed on a smile and started walking up the steps. Dave had taken his dog around the back. “I’m just coming.”

  Her mother gave her a quick hug and an equally assessing gaze. “You doing okay?”

  “Well, it’s still strange to be back, but it’s also great to see you all.”

  “We’re delighted to see you, too. Ron’s really hoping you’ll want to settle down here.” Her mother shut the door. “Do you need to wash up and change before you meet Jenna?”

  Faith glanced down at her muddy boots and grimaced. “Sorry, I should have come through the back with Dave.”

  “Like we haven’t seen our fair share of mud on these floors. That’s why we went for so much tile.” Her mother smiled and motioned with her hand. “Go on up. Dinner will be ready when you are.”

  Faith automatically turned right at the top of the stairs and headed for her old room. Thankfully, after she’d left, her parents had converted it into a guest bedroom, and it no longer felt like her space, which was a good thing. She’d agreed to sit down with her dad after dinner and go over his plans for the practice and the financials and she was looking forward to it. Even with Jenna working up at Morgan Ranch there was still plenty of scope to expand and improve the existing business. The thought of being given a free hand to put into practice all the lessons she’d learned over the years was exciting.

  Faith paused at her bedroom door. If it hadn’t been for the whole Danny Miller thing, she probably wouldn’t even be considering her options, but would’ve jumped at the chance. She sighed. But if it hadn’t been for Danny Miller, she wouldn’t have left Morgan Valley in the first place and gained all this great experience to run a successful veterinary business.

  Her cell buzzed and she glanced down to see a text from Dave, which was weird as she’d just been talking to him.

  Fyi

  Faith frowned as she scrolled down to reveal the second text Dave had forwarded on to her.

  Hey, any chance we could meet up in private? I think we should talk. Danny.

  She dropped her phone like it was on fire and then fell to her knees hoping desperately she hadn’t broken the damn thing.

  Nope, there was his message, loud and clear and just as terrifying. Faith stared at it for at least a full minute before gently placing her phone on her bedside table and plugging in the charger. She’d take a quick shower, get changed, and go and meet Jenna and Blue. When she’d done all that, maybe she’d be in a better place to deal with the unexpectedly early intrusion in her new life from Danny Miller.

  Chapter Two

  After sending his text to Dave, Danny checked his phone at regular intervals, but there was no reply from either of the McDonalds. His mom had a strict no phones at the table rule, so he ate his dinner, talked ranch business with his brother Evan and his father, and tried not to second-guess his decision to grab the bull by the horns and reach out to Faith.

  Evan had turned up late for dinner and wasn’t in a good mood, which was unusual enough for Danny to ask him what was up when they reached the coffee stage.
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  “It’s those damn Brysons again. Their lower fence is down and about thirty of their cows were in our field. I corralled them in one corner and called Doug, but he said he didn’t have time to come get them.”

  “He’s always been a jerk just like his father,” Jeff chimed in. “I never liked him, either.”

  “I told him I didn’t have time to drive them back onto his land and that he should fix his damned fences and stop relying on us to do it for him.” Evan took a slug of coffee.

  “What did you do with the cattle?” Danny asked.

  “I left them where they were.” Evan finally grinned. “If he wants them, he’ll have to figure out a way to get them back because I did fix the hole in the fence.”

  “I expect I’ll be hearing from him tomorrow morning, then,” their father said. “He’s never been one to keep his thoughts to himself.”

  Jeff looked quite pleased at the thought of a confrontation, which didn’t surprise Danny in the least. His father loved a good fight and he was bored to tears stuck at home.

  “I don’t know how Doug stays in business.” Their father was still talking. “And, there’s only his sister up there with him. I bet she won’t stick around.”

  “How do you know?” Danny and his Mom asked at the same time, and then high-fived each other. “Women can run ranches. She can do whatever she wants.”

  “I suppose so,” his dad grudgingly conceded.

  “You need to get with the times, Dad,” Evan said. “If you said that to Sue Ellen’s face, she wouldn’t take it well.”

  “She’d definitely whoop his ass,” Danny added.

  “I’d pay to see that.” Evan set down his glass. “And, seeing as Sue Ellen has a bit of a thing for you, Danny boy, she’d probably do it for you if you asked.”

  “Sue Ellen has good taste,” Danny’s mom agreed before turning back to her ex-husband. “Now, did you tell the boys about my plans?”

  “Haven’t had time,” Jeff grumbled. “You only told me this morning.”

  “I’m planning on flying back to New York next week.”

  “Okay.” Danny was surprised she’d been able to stay for so long already. “You must have missed a lot of work stuff, right?”

  She smiled at him. “To be honest, most of it I’ve handled online or by phone, but there’s a big charity board meeting coming up and I need to be there in person for that.” She sighed. “And I miss Ellie.”

  “When do you think you’ll get back here?” Evan asked the question Danny hadn’t wanted to. “Otherwise Dad’s gonna sulk like a baby.”

  Leanne reached over and took Jeff ’s hand. “That’s up to your father. If he wants me to come back, he’ll let me know.”

  Danny glanced at his father’s stormy expression and got to his feet. The last thing he needed when his nerves were already on edge was to watch his father lose his temper.

  “I’ll help you clear the table, Evan.”

  “But I’m not finished,” Evan protested as Danny fixed him with a pointed stare. “Or, maybe I am.” He started gathering up plates. “How about I load the dishwasher while you make some more coffee and deal with the pans?”

  “Hey, I cooked,” Danny reminded his younger brother. “So, you get to wash the pans.”

  A while later when both Evan and his father had disappeared into their relative bolt-holes, Danny gave the kitchen countertops a last wipe down and set the rest of the meal in the refrigerator for when Kaiden came home from the Garcia Ranch. His brother was combining his carpentry business with helping manage the ranch and was a very busy man these days.

  Danny was just about to check his phone when his mother joined him in the kitchen. Personality wise he was most like her, being the quiet determined type who just got on with shit while everyone else screamed and hollered. Twenty years ago, she’d walked out on his father to teach him a lesson—a lesson Jeff had only recently learned, and he had tried to make amends for depriving his kids of their mother. They all bore the scars of that decision and even after a couple of years of her regular presence at the ranch, Danny still wasn’t quite sure how to deal with her.

  She helped herself to some coffee and leaned up against the refrigerator, her mug cupped in her hands. She was of average height and her hair still held a glint of the red Ben, Evan, and Daisy had inherited.

  “Can I ask you something, Danny?”

  “Sure.” He put down the kitchen cloth. “What’s up?”

  “Is there something I should know about you and Faith McDonald?”

  It dawned on him that she hadn’t been around when everything had gone down.

  “Dad didn’t tell you about that?” he hedged.

  She wrinkled her nose. “I think that was during the height of the divorce wars, so no.”

  Danny hesitated. It wasn’t just his secret and he’d promised Faith. “If there was anything you needed to know that affected the here and now, I’d definitely tell you.”

  “You would?” She looked hopefully up at him.

  “Yes, but anything that did happen went down a very long time ago when we were kids, and it’s best to leave it in the past.”

  She sighed. “If only stuff stayed in the past, we’d all be fine.” She met his gaze. “If things change on that score, you promise to tell me?”

  Danny nodded. “Definitely, but we’re different people now and I can’t see Faith being the kind of person to hold a grudge.”

  “Well, she hasn’t come home for almost seventeen years, so I’d say she feels bad about something.”

  Danny smiled. “Now you sound like Dad.”

  “You don’t say.” She sighed. “He’s really mad I’m leaving. He seemed to think I’d come back for good.”

  “Hardly surprising.” Danny raised an eyebrow. “You know what he’s like. He complains all the time about us all being here and ruining his life, but the moment we want to leave, he gets all salty about it. He still hasn’t forgiven Ben for moving two miles down the road, Kaiden for working outside the ranch, and Adam for sharing Lizzie’s apartment and commuting up here to work.”

  “I know.” She sipped her coffee. “How would you feel if I moved back here permanently?”

  Danny blinked at her. “What about your work in New York?”

  “As I said, I can manage most of it from here.” She eyed him carefully. “You don’t like the idea?”

  “It’s not up to me to tell you and Dad how to manage your lives,” Danny said carefully. “Would you live here? And what about Ellie? Would she come with you?”

  “You’re really good at answering questions with questions of your own.” His mom chuckled. “I’m not sure about living here on the ranch, to be honest. I might rent something in town.”

  “Are you worried Dad’s not going to get better?” Danny asked flat out. “Do you think you need to be close for his benefit?”

  She set her mug down on the counter. “I think you and your siblings are more than capable of looking after your own father if that’s what you’re getting at. I’d like to come home. I really miss this place and, seeing as I have the kind of life and financial resources to live wherever I like, I decided I wanted to make a change.” She shrugged. “What’s going on with Jeff certainly made me come to a decision faster, but we’d already discussed me moving back here before he had his heart attack.”

  “I think you should do what you want to do,” Danny said slowly.

  “Thank you.” She offered him a smile. “That’s very sweet of you.” She turned to the sink. “I’ve spoken to all of you now and no one’s told me I’m a complete fool. I’m a different person from that scared girl who let herself be pushed out of her own family and your father definitely knows it.” She held out her hand. “Are you done with that mug, dear? Give it to me and I’ll rinse it out and stick it in the dishwasher.”

  Danny was still thinking about his mother’s last words long after she’d left him sitting alone in the shadowed kitchen. If his parents could find common gro
und twenty years after their horrible divorce, then surely couldn’t he and Faith do the same?

  He checked his cell phone and his heart stuttered as he saw the new text from an unknown number.

  Hey, as I’m not even sure I’m staying, can I take a rain check on that?

  Danny contemplated Faith’s words for a considerable amount of time as he weighed up whether to reply or not. If she wasn’t staying, what was the point of opening up all those old wounds? And if she was, he’d get another opportunity to talk to her at a later date. But maybe next time he wouldn’t be so quick to reach out.

  He turned off his phone, stuck it in his pocket, and decided to go out to the barn to finish his chores for the day. With two of his brothers currently off the ranch, his sister in San Francisco, and his dad restricted to light work, the burden of keeping the family business going fell increasingly on his and Evan’s shoulders. Not that he minded the work. In fact, with his father out of the way, he could implement a lot of the new ideas he’d learned during his agricultural degree classes without constant opposition. He’d be able to improve the herd, introduce new grass and wetland management processes, and make the ranch both environmentally and economically more stable.

  With that thought firmly in mind, Danny pushed away from the table and went through into the mudroom to put on his boots. Whether Faith left or decided to stay, his future was here on the ranch, and taking his family safely into the future was his number-one priority.

  * * *

  “We own the land, there are no mortgages on either of the two properties, and there is almost no debt—except for patient bills debt, but as you probably know that’s a common problem around here.”

  Faith’s father passed a thick accounting book over to her and sat back. They were in his book-lined study with the drapes closed while Dave and her mother watched some terrible reality show they both loved in the family room.

  “You don’t have your accounts online? How do you manage payroll?” Faith asked.