The Boss, the Bride & the Baby (Brighton Valley Cowboys Book 1) by Judy Duarte

Author:Judy Duarte [Duarte, Judy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin Special Editon
Published: 2015-08-04T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

On Saturday morning, Ralph Nettles stopped by the ranch to take a look at the property and give Jason his thoughts on an asking price.

“I haven’t been inside since your grandmother’s funeral,” Mr. Nettles said as he eyed the stacks of boxes Juliana had packed and labeled after she’d carefully listed each item on the spreadsheet. “It’s a shame you’re not going to keep it in the family.”

“My great-grandmother wanted one of us to live here and oversee the ranch, but my house and businesses are in Houston. My sister wants a singing career and is in San Antonio now, but she plans to travel. And Braden can’t run two places at once.”

“That’s true.” The white-haired man nodded slowly and stroked his chin. “Braden’s granddad hasn’t been well, and so your brother will be busier than ever, especially if Gerald passes.”

Juliana knew that Gerald Miller had been under the weather, but she hadn’t known that it was that serious.

“What’s wrong with Mr. Miller?” Jason asked.

“Cancer. I’ve seen him a few times when I take my wife to see her oncologist. Gerald doesn’t talk much, but he told her, at his age, he wasn’t going to fight it. He didn’t see the point. And I can’t say as I blame him. That chemo can take a lot out of a man, especially if it isn’t going to do the trick for very long.”

Juliana wondered if Braden knew. If so, he hadn’t said anything to her. And even though he was fairly private, she suspected he would have mentioned something. She also wondered if Mr. Miller would appreciate Mr. Nettles sharing the news of his illness or his thoughts on treatment with them.

She didn’t think so.

“That’s too bad,” Jason said.

“Sure is. They don’t make too many folks like the Millers. They’re good people.”

That was true. Juliana glanced at Jason, saw his brow furrow. Had Mr. Nettles’s assessment surprised him?

“Why don’t I show you the rest of the house,” he suggested to the Realtor. “Then I’ll take you out and give you a tour of the ranch.”

“You aren’t going to make me saddle up, are you?” Mr. Nettles chuckled. “I used to be a pretty good rider, but these days I’m a little rusty.”

“Don’t worry,” Jason said. “We’ll take the Gator. I also have some aerial shots you can take back to the office.”

As Jason and the Realtor left the room, Juliana went back to the work at hand. The men had no more than stepped out the back door when her cell phone rang. It was her mother.

“Hi, honey. A Mr. Alex Montgomery from La Galleria called looking for you.”

Juliana had expected Loren, her boss, to call about Jason’s purchase, but not Alex. “What did he have to say?”

“Your paintings sold. He wanted to know where to mail your commission check.”

“On my last day at work, I left your address and phone number. I instructed my boss to mail my checks to you. So there was no reason for Alex to call and ask.

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