Acquiring Trouble

relationships since then." Paige scowled as she rocked Ryan to sleep in her arms .
    " I think she sounds interesting. M aybe I just need to get to know her. You know, one bad girl to another," Annie laughed.
    " Pish Posh , you're not bad!" Miss Lily smacked Anni e's leg and Annie just laughed.
    There was a lot about her life that no one knew. She had a feeling she and Morgan would get along great.
     
    *      *      *
     
    Miles hung up the phone and raked his fingers through his hair. In two week s Morgan Hamilton ha d swayed thirty of his farmers to her s ide while he only convinced twenty-three. He wasn’t used to losing, and he wasn't going to this time, even if he couldn't stop thinking about grabbing that long black hair and wrapping it around his hand as he pull ed her head back for a blazing kiss that would leave her quivering.
    Bill howled and Miles opened his eyes and readjusted his pants before the door to his office opened. He was sure Claire had scheduled more appointments with his members, so he was surprised when he saw his youngest brother walk in instead.
    "Bill, quiet." The little dog stopped his howling and laid back down, putting his gray face on his stubby little legs before falling back to sleep.
    "Miles, do you know you have a dog in your office?" Peirce looked skeptically at the dog. "And is he wearing a bandana?"
    "Yes. He’s easy to miss being so close to the ground an d all, but that long tail is lethal when he wags it. As for the bandana, I had one from when we go riding. It just seems right for him, don't you think? "
    "I'm glad I came then. One, you’re not a dog person. Two, Morgan's be en in town for a week and you’ ve disappeared since then. I know Marshall is who you normally talk to and he's tied up with all the last minute details for the wedding next month , and Cade is all baby talk nowadays. A nd Cy, well, who knows what he's doing ? So, I thought the responsibility fell to me to come check on you."
    Miles looked up at his baby brother and almost laughed. Pierce was ten years younger than him and was just a kid when he went off to join the Rangers. He still thought of him that way even though Pierce had just bought his first farm and was in the process of rebuilding the old farmhouse by hand while he cleared the land. Miles and the rest of his brothers had even turned over control of their farming to him for the past five years, but it was hard to think of him as a confide nt adult .
    "Tell Ma I'm fine, just busy."
    "You thin k Ma sent me? I came because I’ m the only one who’s noticing you'r e not yourself. What's going on? I’m shocked you’ve decided to keep this mutt. "
    "Bill was sitting on my front porch this fall and has just decided to hang around . He's a pretty co ol dog. Nothing is going on. I’ m just working hard to meet with the farmers to try to get a con sensus on blocking this takeover ." Miles started to get agitated. Who was Pierce to think he knew anything about this?
    "Well, Morgan paid me a visit this morning. She put forth a real good argument for Top Producers . Bigger contracts, more bargaining power, lobbying efforts in Washington to help farmers… "
    "What?" Miles shot up in his seat. Oh, this meant war. Morgan went to his own family to try to force the so-called merger !
    "Yup. I learned her high points and her weakness es , but I guess you're too busy to hear what your little brother has to say."
    Miles softened his face. Pierce seemed to have picked up on his lack of enthusiasm while talking to him about business. Miles looked again and maybe his little brother wasn't so little anymore. He was almost as tall as Miles, same hair and eyes, sharper featu res though and he was leaner . Miles work ed out every day to keep in Ranger shape, but Pierce had muscles from wrestling and branding cows, tossing hay bales, and all the ot her physical ly demanding jobs of being a farmer.
    "You're right. Sorry. Tell me about Morgan."
    "You firs t. You seem so distant recently and it doesn't l ook like you're sleeping much."
    "Pierce, I'm fine. I never sleep much, you know that." Miles sat back in his chai r and suddenly felt very tired.
    "I know you don’t sleep much since you ’ve c o me back from overseas. Maybe you need to talk to someone," Pierce said quietly.
    "I certainly do not. There were people who came home in body bags —I just can't sleep very well. I count myself lucky."
    "Well, if you ever want to talk about it, I'm here for