Page 59 of Meant for Her

His brows pinched. “That’s not even a ranch.”

Now he was being a snob. “Not everyone is lucky enough to have the perfect piece of land. If you must know, their ranch used to be twenty-thousand acres, but their father gambled almost all of it away.”

Her dad’s eyebrows rose. “You seem to know a lot about these men. Don’t tell me you like them.”

“Josh, Malia feels sorry for them. She just wants to help.”

While that seemed okay for them to think that a few days ago, things had changed. “Actually, these two men are my mates.” Her pulse raced after making that declaration.

Her father’s face reddened. “I’m sure you are mistaken. You’re a nurse for god’s sake. You’re going to study to be a doctor. Not that ranching isn’t an excellent profession, but if they don’t have a lot of land or a lot of cattle, how will they be able to support you?”

She explained that when their father had been killed, Mr. Lattimore only had a few cows. But over the years, Luke and Ryan had been able to build it up to over one-hundred. “If their dad hadn’t borrowed money from the bank, the men would be in good shape financially.” Or so she believed.

“What else do you know about them, other than they are almost broke? Any rancher worth his salt would make sure his fences were secure—especially if they could ill-afford to lose any stock.”

“Dad, it’s not that hard to drive a semi through a fence.” To be honest, she had no idea if that was what happened.

“Josh, let’s not be so judgmental.” Her mom turned to Malia. “Why don’t you invite your men over tomorrow night for dinner. We should meet them.”

Malia was hoping her mother would suggest that. “That would be great.” She turned to her father. “Please be nice. These are not some stupid cowhands. They are trying to make the best of a bad situation. Okay?”

He held up a hand. “I will try to be on my best behavior but no promises.”

“Thank you.”

The buzzer on the stove went off, and her mom pushed back her chair. “Let me get the food. Malia, can you help me?”

She was very happy to have something to do.

Once the food was on the table, the two of them peppered her with questions about the men—such as how did she meet them and where was their mother now? Thankfully, they didn’t ask if she’d slept with them.

The more questions they asked, the more Malia realized she didn’t know all that much about the men. Her new goal was to change that.

CHAPTEREIGHTEEN

The next day, Malia drove over to Luke and Ryan’s place since Ryan had asked her to help him pick out something appropriate to wear to dinner with her parents.

“Not a tie,” she said as he held up a blue and red striped one. While it went well with his blue button-down shirt, this wasn’t some formal affair. “You need to look nice but not like you’re going to a funeral.”

“Got it. Tell me their names again?”

Malia chuckled. “My mom is Kathy, and my dad is Josh.”

“I think I’ll stick with Mr. and Mrs. Granger.”

In all honesty, Malia wasn’t sure what her parents would prefer. She didn’t bring home dates, and certainly not two men who were her mates.

If the men acted super casual with her father, it probably would put him off. “That works. Dad might be a rancher, but of late, he’s become a businessman, selling his cattle to the highest bidder.”

“He goes to the auctions himself?” Ryan asked.

“No, Dad sends Seth and Trevor, but he likes doing the private deals. He knows a lot of people from all over the state. I think he really enjoys hobnobbing with the rich people.”

“That doesn’t describe us,” he said.

Since Ryan seemed rather nervous, Malia wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him on the cheek. “Just be yourself.”

“So far that philosophy hasn’t worked all that well around here.”

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