Denim & Diamonds (19 page)

nearly an hour when she decided to turn her mount and return to the barn.

She was nearly back when a sound that didn’t belong jerked her back to reality. She pulled Dingo to a stop and held her breath. She strained to listening. The water bubbled over rocks and a crow cawed in the distance, then she heard it again.

Voices.

A man and woman arguing, from just ahead. Beth slid off the horse and dropped the reins, glad her father demanded that every one of his horses be trained to ground tie. The voices were tense, but the speakers were trying to keep quiet. She crept forward, quiet as a church mouse. As she got closer, she recognized Beau’s voice, and that of his eccentric aunt.

She paused, hesitant to eavesdrop on her foreman’s private conversation, but curiosity won out and she peered over a fallen tree.

Lana sat on the ground and Beau stood over her. Beau’s face was red and his fists were clenched. His aunt seemed unresponsive to his anger, almost dismissive. She sat cross-legged, with her hands resting on her knees. Beth dropped to all fours and crept forward a few more feet, then peered through the branches of a bush.

“I don’t believe you,” Beau hissed.

“Believe or don’t believe. That is your choice, boy. But it’s the truth. And you are destined to follow in their footsteps,” Lana said. Her back was ramrod straight, her head held high.

“They were not what you say they were! You’re just crazy.” Beau spat the last three words at the old woman sitting on the cold ground.

“You know it’s true. It is obvious when you deal with the animals. Think about your mustang stallion. He knows.”

“I have a way with animals. There’s nothing special about that.”

“Oh, my boy, you’re wrong. It's your gypsy heritage.” Her eyes were wide and innocent as she gestured towards the book in front of her. "You learned all about herbs from your mother."

"Yes, Lana. Herbs. It's scientific." He shook his head and turned away from the old woman, towards where Beth was hidden. She ducked behind the log and froze. He said, “And don't try to change the subject. I know what you’ve been doing. Cattle’ve been disappearing in these parts, and I won’t have you doing that around here. If you aren’t gone by noon tomorrow, I’m going to the Sheriff.”

“He’s under my--”

Beau snorted. “He is not! He’s just being nice to you because he thinks you’re nuts. I don’t want to turn you in, but I will. And if I hear that you’ve done anything besides stealing, I swear --”

Beth’s leg started to cramp, and she shifted her weight. A twig snapped under her weight and she froze. The voices were silent. She held her breath.

“Who’s there?” Beau called out. She closed her eyes, praying that Dingo had stayed put and would not respond to him. She backed down the hill inches at a time towards her waiting horse. About halfway down, she heard the voices over the hill resume. When she reached Dingo, she snagged his reins and led him through the woods and into a clearing. Once she could no longer hear the rush of the water, she decided it was safe to mount. She urged him to a slow jog and pointed his nose towards the barn.

Her curiosity had been piqued, and she wondered about Beau's family, his background. He was convinced Lana was behind the thefts. She was relieved that Beau wasn’t going to choose Lana over the Diamond J. His loyalty was touching, but she hoped he would follow through if his aunt didn’t leave. Beth did not want to be put in the position of turning her in, but if she had to, she would. Having a cattle rustler on the property was simply not acceptable, and that woman was not going to stand in Beth’s way of getting her inheritance. But what did Lana mean about his family?

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

B
eth studied her reflection in the mirror, turning her head this way and that. She pulled her hair back and held it there as she examined her ivory skin. Thank goodness it was blemish free. She had lost weight since moving to the ranch, and her cheekbones were more pronounced than they had been in the spring. She let her hair down, then pulled it back up again. She nodded. Up it would be.

She chose a pink velvet barrette and pulled her hair up in a half ponytail. After looking through her meager supply of makeup, she added a touch of blush, some eyeliner and finished off with a quick brush of mascara over her lashes.

Once satisfied with her face, she turned around to look at her reflection in the mirrored shower door. She smiled as she realized she’d lost weight all over. Her leg muscles were more pronounced, and her stomach was flat. She turned to the side and grinned. Her butt was the tightest it had ever been!

Beth entered the large walk-in closet she still felt lost in, and flipped through the rack of shirts. She had never been on a hayride, and she didn’t have a clue what to wear. Surely it would be a casual affair. Everything here at the ranch was casual. Besides, she’d be sitting on hay! She pulled a pair of classic straight leg blue jeans from the shelf and jumped up and down as she tugged them on. She chose a black turtleneck that was just a little clingy, then she slipped into a fur-lined denim vest. Perfect for a chilly fall evening.

She headed for her bedroom -- it still gave her a warm feeling to think of it as her bedroom -- and looked for her distressed leather lacers. Her father had even gotten her shoe size right! Once she had them on and pulled her jeans over the top of the boots, she stood and examined herself in the full-length mirror.

“Your butt looks fine,” Katie called from the doorway. “Come on!”

“I wasn’t looking at my butt,” Beth retorted.

Katie laughed as she stepped into the room, “You were, too!"

She was dressed in tight black low rise jeans and an off white sweater with a dark faux fur collar, which set off her golden curls. Her hair was pulled back and up with her trademark leather barrette. With the high heels on her black cowboy boots, she was taller than Beth. "Come on! Everybody’s out by the barn, and Miss Charlotte told me to come and get you. Even my parents are here already.”

"I'm so glad you were able to come back from college for the long weekend." She felt a flicker of jealousy at the natural beauty of the girl. "Was your boyfriend able to come?"

"No, he had to work." Katie's face clouded for a moment. "But that's OK. It'll still be a good time without him. And we're both still seeing other people."

Beth envied the girl's easy manner. She'd been way too dependent on boys when she was in college. "I've never been on a hayride before."

“I can’t imagine that!" Katie shook her head in mock indignation. "It's a fall tradition in the country.“

“Let’s get out there and get this show on the road.” Beth glanced around her room, and smiled at the gray tabby curled up in the pillows before she turned off the light and shut the door.

When they stepped out the front door, she gasped in surprise. The parking lot and driveway was overflowing, with cars and pickups lining the white fence along the driveway all the way to the blacktop. A large group of people gathered by the front door of the barn, laughing and talking. Flickering jack-o-lanterns grinned from the perimeter of the lot, and a couple of scarecrows leaned against the fences, their grinning faces a bit creepy in the twilight. Strings of orange lights were strung around the barn and over to the round pen, creating a party atmosphere.  

Charlotte
was in her element as she made sure everyone had a cup of hot cider. Her head bobbed up and down and her laughter carried on the evening breeze as she mingled with neighbors and

townspeople. Katie ran ahead to meet up with two of her college friends who'd come to make a long weekend of it.

The Sheriff sat on a straw bale talking to a couple of people that Beth didn’t recognize. He nodded to her and raised his cup of cider in greeting as she approached. The car dealer with the slicked back hair was once again cornered by Aunt Lana. He didn’t seem as anxious to get away from her as he had at the summer barbecue. In fact, he appeared to be completely smitten with the petite woman at his side, and couldn’t take his eyes off of her.

Lana!

The talk with Katie had completely distracted her and she had forgotten all about the overheard conversation between Beau and Lana. Beau had said he would take care of it, and she trusted him. At least enough to give him a chance to make things right. She would give him until morning, but in the meantime, she would keep an eye on Lana.

Beth steered clear of them and headed for the other side of the group, intent on mingling as much as possible in hopes of drumming up business and support for the ranch. She hadn’t said anything to anyone at the ranch, but she had some business ideas that she intended to initiate as the new ranch owner, and it would certainly help to have some personal contacts before she opened the business.

Beth looked around for Beau. She hadn’t seen Cole or Joe yet, either. She frowned, wondering where the guys could be. Loneliness niggled at her. She was embarrassed to admit that she had asked Quinn to join her, in a moment of weakness. She missed her life in Kansas City. So, when he called last week to discuss a client’s testamentary trust with her, she asked him to come out for the hayride. She winced as she recalled his response – laughter.

A neighbor lady waved at her, but Beth couldn't recall her name. The woman leaned forward and said, "Good to see you again. It’s too bad Beau had to go to that special auction tonight."

“Auction?” Beth asked, a frown puckering her forehead.

“She’s talking about that special bull sale, Miss Beth,” Joe appeared at Beth’s side, startling her. His cowlick was smoothed down, and his jeans and shirt looked brand new. He caught Beth’s eye and

winked, “Remember that sale you told Beau to go to because you wanted that bull that was goin’ to be sold?”

“Sure, sure. The auction,” Beth said, confused, but willing to go along with Joe for the moment. “Where’s Cole?”

Joe’s smile got bigger, “Miss Beth, you must be workin’ too hard. Don’t you r’member, you sent Cole with Beau to help him with that bull.”

“Oh, I see,” Beth said, not seeing at all.

“Must be one special bull,” the older lady said with a smile.

Beth half-listened as the neighbor and Joe chatted about folks they recognized. She glanced over the crowd, surprised to find she recognized a lot of the people. Gina, who ran the little scrapbook store in town, chatted with Roger Andrews, who ran the local hardware store. Evelyn Richardson, the slightly eccentric woman who fed the pigeons on the town square (and who no one was able to convince that there were no pigeons on the town square) stood by herself, smiling and talking to no one. The rather pompous Weldon B. Willingham III rocked back and forth on his heels as he explained the value of estate planning and tax avoidance to a tight knot of elderly folks who nodded as they listened to his sage advice.

Charlotte had warned Beth to steer clear of the distinguished Mr. Willingham, who had once been the town’s most successful attorney, but had since declared himself a non-citizen and established his little lot in town as a separate country. He flew a flag which he had designed himself and refused to pay taxes. And tried to convince other people in Wilder to follow his example and secede from the United States.

Beth had been less than excited to know that the gentleman would be joining them, but Charlotte had assured her that he was a harmless old man who everyone listened to out of politeness and respect for their elders – but let it go in one ear and out the other. Still, the idea of having him here made her a little nervous. She sincerely hoped that he and Aunt Lana wouldn’t find each other. That could be a combustible situation.

As she looked over the crowd, a waving hand caught her eye. The Sheriff rose and worked his way through the crowd. Beth left Joe and wove through the crowd.

“Miss Jameson, so good to see you,” the Sheriff said as he stuck a hand out.

She grasped his hand and shook it. “Please, call me Beth. Glad you could make it,”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Van said, a smile splitting his leathered face.

Having the Sheriff there made her a bit nervous, after overhearing Beau and Lana’s conversation. The old adage about keeping your enemies closer didn't quite apply, but she felt better having him in sight. “Anything new going on in Wilder?”

“Just the usual. A few peace disturbances. A few of the farmers been complaining. Seems like we may have a mountain lion in the area, or something of the sort. Something’s been bothering the stock around here.”

Beth’s brow scrunched in a frown as she thought of Bert, who’d lost most of his herd to thieves. “More cattle rustlers?

“Old Mr. Jameson to your west has had two heifers die on him, cut up something awful." He shrugged. "Rustlers would be my guess, but there’s more to it than that.”

“That’s too bad,” Beth answered. She felt a shiver work its way up her spine, and she looked out into the gathering dusk. “I didn’t know we had mountain lions around here.”

“Not a lot. But it only takes one hungry mountain lion to cause problems.” Van looked at Beth, his gray eyes intent on hers. “You had any problems here?”

“No. I’m sure the boys would tell me if they had run across anything like that,” Beth answered, her voice sounding more confident than she felt.

“Haven’t lost any animals?” Van asked.