The Rebellious Rancher. Kate Pearce
will be taking her; that’s my buddy Ben Miller. He’ll be here tomorrow morning to sort things out.” He looked at Silver. “You’ll like him. He’s really capable.”
Silver wanted to ask capable of what, but her attention was diverted to the huge peach pie Mrs. Morgan had placed on the table. She hadn’t seen anything like it since she was a kid at her grandparents’ house.
“Please help yourself.” Mrs. Morgan handed over plates and spoons. “I made it myself. Would you like a piece, Silver?”
Silver glanced warily at her father who was almost salivating at the fragrant sugary-spicy scent wafting from the pie. Like everyone in her personal team, he kept an app on his phone of the calories she consumed, and was usually quick to tell her everything she wasn’t allowed to touch, let alone eat.
Mrs. Morgan slid a plate over to her and then one to her father. For a moment, they shared a guilty look, and then he exhaled.
“One little bit won’t hurt us, will it, Silver?”
* * *
Silver woke up early to the god-awful sound of a rooster crowing outside her window. Even as she stuck her pillow over her head, the noise got worse as a truck pulled into the circular driveway and someone started whistling to the dogs. She’d met a whole houseful of Morgans at dinner last night, and still wasn’t sure of all the names. To her relief, after initially staring at her like she was some kind of exhibit in the zoo, they’d all gotten over themselves and treated her just like a regular person. She hadn’t even caught any of them trying to sneak a picture of her on their phone.
It had been weird to be surrounded by so much noise and laughter, which wasn’t directed at her. She tried to remember the last time she’d been out without her bodyguards, her publicist, at least one member of her family, and her personal assistant beside her. Here, she was just a guest on a ranch in the middle of nowhere, and, although she’d been included in all the discussions, no one had made them all about her.
As she sat up against her pillows, she realized she’d forgotten to close the drapes and that the sun was rising over the mountains to cover the pasture in soft, golden light. A group of horses ran past her window, like in a movie, tails and manes blowing in the breeze as they goofed off with each other. It was going to be a beautiful day.
She grabbed her phone and took a quick picture of the scene before remembering that she wasn’t supposed to let anyone know where she was so she couldn’t post it to her social media accounts. There were several texts from her siblings, her mom, and her PA, all asking how she was settling in. She was just about to start answering them when she remembered that her bedroom had no attached bathroom and that she’d have to run down the hall to pee and shower.
Normally, when she traveled, she had a huge suite to herself, and didn’t share anything with anyone, but she had to pee and that had to come first. She opened the door and looked cautiously out into the hallway. Most of the doors were ajar, indicating that everyone else had already gotten up. She ran down to the bathroom and locked the door, took a quick shower, and spent half an hour on her makeup.
Someone tapped on the door and she went to open it, her gaze dropping to the level of the small boy smiling up at her through the escaping steam.
“Hey, you.” She couldn’t remember his name, although from his bright blue eyes he was definitely a Morgan.
“Granny wants to know if you’re coming down for breakfast. Ben’s already here.”
“Can you tell her that I’ll be down in five minutes?”
“Sure thing.”
She went back to her bedroom and lay flat on the floor to wriggle into her jeans, added an off-one-shoulder knitted top, and left her hair loose. She slipped her bare feet into some high-heeled sandals and made her way down the stairs. When she entered the kitchen, there was a man sitting at the table she was fairly certain she hadn’t met before.
“Good morning, Mrs. Morgan. Sorry I’m so late coming down.”
Ruth smiled at her. “There’s no rush, my dear. Ben and I have been catching up on family news while he waited for you.”
The man at the table rose slowly to his feet and looked down at her from his considerable height. “Ma’am.”
He had a tight beard with a hint of red in it, warm brown eyes, and the tanned face of a man who earned his living working outside. All in all, he lived up to what BB Morgan had promised—capable, if capable meant average.
“Hi, Ben.” She held out her hand and looked up at him through her lashes. “I’m Silver. It’s so nice to meet you.”
“Yeah, likewise.” He took her hand in his big, callused one and gently shook it like he thought she might break.
He waited until she seated herself opposite him and then sat back down again. “You ready to go?”
He obviously wasn’t the chatty type, which was perfectly fine with her. “Well, I’ll need to sort out my baggage, but sure!”
* * *
Ben couldn’t quite believe he was sitting opposite Silver Meadows, the girl who had starred in his favorite TV show when he was a kid. She was older now, obviously, but she was still petite, and so fricking perfect that it almost hurt to look at her. When BB had told him about her “problems” and that her family was really worried about her, he’d been skeptical. Seeing her face-to-face literally glowing with health made him doubt them even more, but he’d seen drug addiction up close and personal, and he wasn’t going to make any snap decisions just yet.
Mrs. Morgan slid a plate piled high with bacon, eggs, and skillet potatoes that he hadn’t asked for in front of him.
“Eat it while it’s hot, Ben.” She turned to Silver. “Now, what can I get you, my dear? The same as Ben?”
Silver looked from Ben’s plate to her hostess, her expression horrified. “That’s about a week’s worth of calories for me. Do you have any grain-free granola or acai berries?”
Ruth and Ben shared an equally puzzled look.
“Or an avocado, or some fresh fruit?” Silver looked down at her phone. “That’s what I usually have after my morning workout with my trainer.”
“I can go over to the guest dining room and get you some fruit,” Ben offered. “We thought you’d prefer to stay here away from the other guests.”
“I don’t want to put you out.” Silver put her phone away. “Can I just have one piece of bacon and an egg and save my carb allowance for later?”
Ben frowned. “That’s not going to keep you full until we make our first stop.”
She smiled at him and he almost swallowed his tongue. “I think I’ll be fine, Ben. I know my own body.”
Ben did his best not to look at her body to confirm that fact, and merely dug into his plateful of food while Ruth made small talk with Silver and fed her what she’d asked for. He finished his second breakfast and had another mug of coffee while his companion chewed every dainty mouthful a hundred times.
Ben stood and took the plate over to the sink.
“Thanks, Mrs. Morgan.”
“You’re welcome, Ben.” She patted his arm. “I’m packing you some lunch to take with you and a few extra treats to keep you going.”
“I appreciate it.” He put his rinsed plate in the dishwasher and turned back to the table. “You can ride, right, Ms. Meadows?”
“Please call me Silver.” Her smile lit up the kitchen. “I’ve done a bit, but I wouldn’t say I was good or anything.”
“I’ll get you to try out a couple of horses before we leave so I can match you up right.” He nodded at her plate. “When you’re done and you’re all packed and ready to go, come and find me