Denim & Diamonds

by Robinett, Lori

  Beau stepped back as Beth spun away to face her horse. She’d forgotten it was Friday, and hadn’t been expecting the interruption. Days on the ranch ran together, week days into weekends. Beth shivered and closed her eyes, knowing that she would not be able to think about anything but Beau for the rest of the day.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Beau rubbed his tired, aching eyes and rolled his head from side to side. There was something about riding alone, just him and his horse. It was a mindless job – you ride, watch the fence for things amiss and fix what needs fixing. And after spending the morning with Beth, he needed time alone to clear his mind. It had taken him all afternoon and his muscles ached, but he felt good.

  As he rounded a clump of scrubby trees, he pulled Digger to a full stop. He set his jaw and gritted his teeth at the sight of the Sheriff’s car in the driveway, parked right beside Aunt Lana’s distinctive semi. The last thing he wanted was the authorities around her. Worries jockeyed for attention as he urged his horse forward at a gallop toward the main house.

  He hoped he wasn’t too late to stop whatever had been set in motion.

  Katie met Beau at the hitching post. She was holding one hand up, shading her eyes from the late afternoon sun. She’d been waiting for him. Beau pulled Digger to a sliding halt a few feet in front of her, then swung out of the saddle while the horse danced sideways.

  “What’s going on?” he asked, as his eyes swept over Katie, noting her narrowed eyes and thinned lips.

  “Don’t know. Nobody’s telling us nothing. Sheriff pulled in here about a half hour ago. Beth met him and they went inside. Cole went in to get a glass of tea and he said the boss and the Sheriff are sitting in the library with the door shut.” The words came tumbling out like rocks down a hill.

  Beau frowned and tossed the reins to the girl, “I’m going up to the house. Take care of Digger for me, will ya?”

  “You got it,” Katie answered. “And Beau?”

  He turned to look at her. “Keep me posted, will you?”

  Beau strode up to the house, looking more confident than he felt. He was trying to think tough, get himself geared up to face the Sheriff. He certainly wasn’t feeling tough – he felt as through his world

  was a house of cards and a giant hand was about to flick a finger and knock one of the base cards out.

  Charlotte met him at the kitchen door. Her face was drawn and tight. “They’re in the library. Door’s been shut the whole time. I took a tray of tea into them and heard Van say something about the rustlers!”

  A dark storm clouded his face as he stalked down the hallway. He tossed over his shoulder, “They should’ve waited for me. I’m still the damned ranch foreman around here.”

  He burst into the library and found his old friend and his new boss seated in the leather wingback chairs, facing the fireplace. They both turned to face him, eyebrows raised. He paused, caught off guard by the casual atmosphere – they looked like two old friends enjoying afternoon tea.

  “Can I help you?” Beth arched her left eyebrow. Van took a sip of iced tea and nodded a hello to Beau.

  “I just — I mean—” Beau took a deep breath and willed his heart to stop pounding so hard, then let out a puff of air. “What is going on?”

  “Ms. Jameson here was telling me about her plans for the ranch,” the Sheriff answered. He gave a little laugh, “Just between you and me, your boss is a go-getter, as ambitious as her daddy thought she was.”

  Her cheeks grew pink, and she cast her eyes downward. He nodded his agreement, but the smile pasted on his face felt stiff. “Yes, she is certainly ambitious.” He pulled the hat from his head and ran his arm across his forehead before the sweat could trickle into his eyes.

  Van tilted his head towards Beth and said, “Seriously, Beth, your daddy did the right thing by leaving you this place.”

  “Thank you, Sheriff,” Beth tilted her chin up. “But it’s not mine yet. My father issued a challenge and I could never walk away from a challenge.”

  Van said, “Guess that’s how you got to be partner at that big law firm in Kansas City.”

  Her face lit up at the mention of Kansas City, probably remembering the life she had left behind. The unspoken question hung in the air. If she won the challenge, would she return to Kansas City? And then what would happen to the Diamond J? What would happen to him?

  “Anyway, I’m getting off track here.” The smile faded from Van’s face, “We have a problem in these parts. Ranchers all around these parts have had stock stolen and two of your neighbors have had cattle come up missing. You had any problems here?”

  “No, sir. But I’ll keep my eyes open and let you know if I hear or see anything unusual.” Beau stepped forward, his hat clutched in both hands in front of him.

  Van lifted his cup to take another sip, then paused. His eyes shifted from Beth to Beau. “Odd that everyone around you is having problems. Think it could be one of your hands involved?”

  Beth answered. “Oh, Sheriff, I can’t believe that anyone here would be involved.”

  “Perhaps you don’t know them well enough to say one way or the other.” He turned to Beau, “How about you?”

  “Van, you know these people here are like family. I know them all well. Nobody who works here would be involved in cattle rustling.” Beau settled his hat back on his head and tugged the brim down.

  “Keep a close eye on things. Wouldn’t want anything to jeopardize Ms. Jameson’s chances at getting her bequest, would we?” The Sheriff’s eyes narrowed, and he leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees. “Anything wrong, Beau? You got sweat just a’pouring off of you.”

  “Was just comin’ back from riding fence when I saw your car and thought it was bad news,” he said, backing towards the door. “I’d better get back to the barn and finish my chores. Digger needs to be cooled down.”

  “Don’t be a stranger, Beau. The wife makes a pretty mean meatloaf, you know.” The Sheriff smiled and sat up straight, then poked Beth on the knee, “Make him bring you over sometime, Miss Jameson.”

  Beau glanced at Beth, who looked up at him with those intense green eyes of hers, framed with long black lashes. Her hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail, and a stray tendril of red curled up to touch her right cheek. She brushed it back and smiled at him. He opened his mouth, but no words came. He’d been thrown off his game. So worried when he stepped through that door, ready to be angry. And now Van wanted him to bring Beth over for dinner, like they were a couple.

  “Is there anything else, Beau?” she asked as she tilted her head a touch to the left.

  “No. No, just wanted to let you know that I’ll be leaving with Joe and Cole for the livestock sale in Wilder as soon as they get back. Good to see you again, Van,” Beau said, nodding at the Sheriff.

  Just as he reached the door, Beth called out, “You’ve got the list of horses we’re interested in, right?”

  He nodded once, quick. Irritation welled up as he turned and left the room. He felt like a kid again, manipulated and kept in the dark. He clenched his fists and set his jaw, determined not to fall into old traps. This was his ranch and he wasn’t about to let a girl bat her eyes and take it from him.

  Not even a girl that made him see fireworks when he kissed her.

  “You’re frowning, Beau,” Charlotte stood in the doorway to the kitchen, hands perched on her hips, “That’s not good.”

  “Thinking about the auction. Beth gave me a list of what she wants me to look for. I still think we ought to consider adding some Mustang blood to our lines.”

  The older woman shrugged. “You may have a point. They’re known for endurance and brains.”

  “Exactly.” He huffed out another breath. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell her, but she’s stubborn as all get out. Can’t see the possibilities.”

  “Your job as ranch foreman is to help her see those possibilities.” Charlotte glanced over his shoulder. “What’s going on back there?”

/>   He shook his head. “Can’t say that I know, Miss Charlotte.” Without another word, he went out the door and crossed the driveway. He could feel her staring after him.

  His heart pounded in time with his stride. He had to clear his head. He couldn’t afford to let anything slip by him. The Sheriff suspected something and would be poking around, but Beau was confident he could deal with that. Beth was a different story though. She took her father’s bequest as a challenge and she wasn’t used to losing. Individually, they were an inconvenience. Together, they were an obstacle.

  Beth was all that stood between him and his dream. He needed to remember that and quit thinking with his heart instead of his head.

  “What’d you find out, Beau?” Katie leaned against the door jamb of the office. Her arms were crossed and a frown bunched her forehead.

  “Nothing to worry about. Did you get Digger cooled down for me?”

  “Walked him for a bit, then unsaddled him and put him in his stall with a scoop of grain,” Katie answered with a grin. She was comfortable with the horses, and was one of the very few people that Beau would toss his prized Digger’s reins to.

  “Thanks, kiddo.” Beau stalked down the aisle, deep in thought.

  “I’m not a kid.”

  He stopped and turned to see Katie standing in the center of the aisle, feet planted wide with her hands on her hips. “What’d you say?”

  She took a step towards him. “I said, I’m not a kid. We’ve been dancing around it all summer.”

  She was right. The sun outlined her curves, of which she had plenty in all the right places. “Katie—”

  She shook her head. “Don’t ‘Katie’ me. Please.”

  It was his turn to shake his head. “Not now.”

  He turned and walked away, and heard her footsteps echo behind him as she walked out of the barn. He was going to have his hands full with her if he didn’t put a stop to things soon. He stopped in front of Digger’s stall and leaned against the stall door, his face pressed against the cool metal of the bars. There were too many other things to think about right now.

  He couldn’t imagine life anywhere but here. He was torn. Before he got to know Beth, he wanted her to fail. He’d already talked to the banker and gotten a go ahead for a loan, thanks to Charlotte’s good credit. She agreed to co-sign, or Clyde Rankin would never have gone for it. That seemed like the perfect scenario. Beth would go back to the city, and life could continue as it had been. But now—

  “Hey, hey, Miss Katie! See ya later!” Lana’s high-pitched voice echoed through the barn. Beau jumped and bumped his head on the bars. He turned to face his aunt, who wore a wrinkled broomstick skirt in every shade of the rainbow and a burnt orange peasant blouse.

  “We need to talk,” Beau glanced around to make sure they were alone. He didn’t expect Joe and Cole to return from checking the cattle for at least half an hour or so, and he knew Katie could be back at any moment and he did not want Beth and Van to show up and overhear anything.

  “What seems to be the problem, boy?” Lana asked as she looking up at him with round eyes. To some, she looked innocent. To Beau, she looked fake. But then, he knew her better than anyone else.

  His feet were braced wide and he crossed his arms. “The problem is you. I want you out of here. Soon.”

  “That’s no way to talk to your elder, boy,” Lana said with an edge to her voice. The wide eyed innocence dissolved.

  “I’m not a kid anymore, Lana. I know what you are and I don’t want any part of it. The people here are good. I have a good life here. I don’t want anything to screw that up for me.” Beau’s voice was soft, but firm. He pressed his lips into a thin line.

  “I won’t screw anything up for you. Don’t be silly. If anyone’s going to screw anything up, it’s you. You just won’t accept what you are.” Lana said, dismissing his concerns with a wave of her age-spotted hand.

  “I am not like you!” Beau hissed. He never stood a chance with a woman like Beth, not if she found out the truth about him.

  Lana smiled at him, a crazy, wild-looking grin. She nodded. “You are like me. Just like your mama was. You know it and I know it. You just don’t want your fancy schmancy boss lady to know what you really are.” A spot of her bright pink lipstick smudged her front tooth. Beau fought the urge to wipe that wicked smile off her face.

  “I am not arguing with you. I want you out. You’ve got until noon tomorrow.” He turned on his heel and walked away.

  “Don’t you dare walk away from me,” Lana said in a low voice. Her tone turned ominous, “You don’t want me to tell your pretty boss lady what you really are, do you? Do you think she’d keep a thief around?”

  Beau spun around and faced his aunt. He jabbed a finger at her to punctuate his words, “I’m not asking you, I’m telling you. Get out.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Beth had enjoyed her visit with Van. He was pleasant, intelligent, and full of information about her father. After he left, she decided to face the paperwork she’d been putting off.

  She had been at it for hours in her father’s library, examining the finances for the ranch and her head ached. Numbers swirled. She ran her index finger down the ledger and punched more numbers into the calculator. No matter how she massaged the figures, the ranch was not showing a profit. Between feed and vet bills and farrier bills, she was drowning in a sea of expenses.

  Damn it! If she didn’t do something to turn things around, she’d lose the ranch. And then what would she do?

  She was reading through the advertising bills when she heard a loud crash of metal against metal outside. She jumped up and ran to the window, the chair rolling back into the wall with a solid thunk.

  The two-horse slant trailer was still hooked to Beau’s black Silverado. Beau backed the trailer up to the round pen. Cole and Joe directed him as he maneuvered the vehicle. The two jumped back as the trailer rocked on its axles. A loud crash resounded from inside the trailer. The truck ground to a stop and Beau slid out, then ran back to the trailer and jumped up on the running board to see in.

  Beth could feel her blood pressure rising. She spun on her heels and bolted for the front door. If he had dared to do what she thought he had done, after she specifically told him not to, oh, he would pay!

  A shrill whinny greeted her as she descended the front steps. Beau had returned to the driver’s seat and continued to back the trailer up to the gate. Joe and Cole saw Beth first, and ducked their heads to avoid her angry stare.

  Beau maneuvered the trailer like a pro. When it trailer was inches from the gate, he jumped out and started towards the back of the trailer, but the sight of his angry boss stopped him short. She stood

  beside the trailer, hands on her hips, her lips pressed in a thin line and her green eyes narrowed to slits.

  “What is this? Don’t you dare tell me that you went and got one of those mustangs after I told you not to!” Beth’s voice was high-pitched, but firm. Her heart felt as if it were about to jump out of her chest.

  “This stallion was well worth the money. He’ll add stamina and agility to our bloodlines,” he spoke as if he were talking to a child.

  “This ranch doesn’t need an unpapered horse. Our horses are as close to pure AQHA as they can get. My father rarely allowed an unregistered horse onto the property. He would roll over in his grave if he knew you were even considering using a wild horse in the breeding program.” Her nostrils flared as she talked. Aidan straddled the fence, frozen at the sudden outburst. Cole and Joe backed up against the fence, trying to sink into the background so they wouldn’t be noticed. It didn’t work.

  Beth spun to face them, pointing an accusatory finger in their direction, “And you two know that! How could you let him do this? Why didn’t you call me?”

  Beau was the first to respond, “Your father knew good horseflesh when he saw it. He would have seen the potential in this animal. He—”

  “Don’t you dare. I am the boss around here, whethe
r you want to accept it or not. That animal will not be a part of Diamond J Ranch.” Her anger threatened to bubble over like a volcano, but she took a deep breath and struggled to keep her voice controlled and measured. How dare he ignore her!

  The gray cat appeared from around the corner of the house, hair standing on end, reacting to his mistress’s foul mood.

  His anger rose to match hers. “Like it or not, this horse will be a part of Diamond J Ranch. You don’t want to pay for him with ranch money, fine! Suit yourself! I’ll pay for him myself.”

  “You most certainly will. And whether he is allowed to stay here at Diamond J Ranch is yet to be seen,” she said in an ominous tone.

  The cat at her feet hissed. She turned on her heel and marched back to the main house, Tripod right behind her.

  The men were silent, and she could feel their eyes on her back. The horse kicked the side of the trailer, indicating his own anger at being in such a confining space.

  Once inside, she watched through the blinds as the four men exploded into action. Joe opened the gate. Cole slid the latch open on the trailer and let the door swing open. They stood clear as the fiery red stallion leapt from the trailer, his hooves never touching the ramp. He galloped around the pen, his mane and tail flowing in the wind, his head held high like the king that he was. Powerful muscles rippled under his skin.

  Beau grabbed hold of the top rail and pulled himself up. He leaned forward, his muscles taut.

  “He’s a fine specimen,” she murmured under her breath.

  Charlotte walked into the kitchen and said, “Who is?”

  Heat crept up Beth’s neck and she kept her face averted as she answered, “The stud.”

  Charlotte nodded and one corner of her mouth twitched up, but she didn’t say anything. Beth was flustered. Beau had gone against her wishes, which infuriated her. He pushed her buttons, and knew she didn’t want that horse. On the other hand, now that she’d seen the animal, she had to admit, he was impressive. Part of her admired Beau for having the guts to follow his heart on this one.