Denim & Diamonds (20 page)

“No,” Beth answered again. She didn’t feel any allegiance to Lana, but she worried about Beau and didn't want him caught up in anything illegal.

Van looked around the crowd until his gaze settled on the bright purple poncho that enveloped Aunt Lana. “I see Beau’s aunt is still around. How’s that workin’ out?”

“I guess you’d have to ask Beau that,” Beth answered. The conversation made her uncomfortable. It felt more like a fishing expedition than a friendly conversation. To her surprise and relief, Charlotte appeared behind the Sheriff.

“Sheriff! What brings you here tonight – business or pleasure?”
Charlotte tucked her hand into the crook of the older man’s arm.

“For me, there’s really never a separation of business and pleasure,” the Sheriff said, looking directly at Beth as he spoke. Beth felt another shiver go up her spine.

“OK, folks! Who’s ready for a hayride?” Joe stood on the tractor, a big grin on his face. Everyone cheered, surged forward and piled onto the wagon. Beth was swept along with the crowd towards the rear of the wagon. Hands reached down and helped her up. Katie and her friends ended up beside her towards the back of the wagon.

Katie pointed out the couple at the front of the wagon. The woman had the same blonde hair, pulled back in a ponytail just like her daughter’s, and the man had the same wide smile. Beth was glad to see that they’d made it. Katie spent so much time at the ranch, Beth had wondered if the girl even had parents. Katie and her friends flipped through a case of CD’s, and had a small boom box sitting between them.

Within moments, strains of the Monster Mash could be heard and everyone sang along with the familiar words. The tractor chugged forward and the hayride was underway. The Sheriff sat across from her, and watched her.

The wagon bumped along the path and jostled the passengers, but no one minded. The sun had set and the nearly full moon peeked over the trees. An owl hooted in the distance. The music continued, and

the group sang along with old favorites such as Purple People Eater and Witch Doctor. Beth found herself laughing and singing along as she swayed with the music.

Suddenly, the tractor and wagon jerked to a stop. The music ended abruptly.

Joe called out, “Something’s wrong with the tractor. I’m gonna take a look. Just keep singing and enjoy yourselves. I’m sure it’s nothin’ serious.”

A nervous murmur rolled through the revelers. Beth and Katie exchanged a nervous glance. She looked over her shoulder. Van had mentioned mountain lions and missing livestock. Moonlight washed over the field, and shadows flitted here and there. Clouds drifted through the sky and blocked the moon. She caught movement out of the corner of her eye and squinted into the darkness.

Nothing moved. A coyote yipped in the distance, then a chorus joined in. A twig snapped and Beth’s head swiveled to the right. Again, she squinted into the darkness, straining to make out the shapes in the night.

Suddenly, Gina screamed and jumped to the center of the wagon. Her eyes were wide. Then one of Katie’s friends pointed and yelled, “There’s something out there!”

Someone else screamed and everyone crowded close to Gina. A shape appeared beside the tractor, a humpbacked figure with a hood over its head moaned and groaned. Penny, the waitress from the café on the square, fainted into her husband’s waiting arms. When the figure grabbed the front railing of the trailer, Charlotte reached out and yanked the mask from the figure, revealing Cole. He grinned, jumped forward and yelled, “Boo!”

Everyone laughed and relaxed. Beth smiled and collapsed onto the straw bale at the back of the wagon. She felt something on her waist and looked down to see a hand reach around her. She opened her mouth to scream, but another hand clamped over her mouth and she was drug off the back of the wagon into the darkness. Heavy arms enveloped her. She turned to face her attacker, clawing at the hand covering her mouth.

It was a werewolf – all furry and wild. The beast bared its teeth, then covered her mouth with his own before she could scream. He pressed his lips against hers. Her eyes were wide with fear, then she saw those eyes, those amazing clear blue eyes. She felt his tongue tease her lips, his arms holding her body against his own. Her lips parted and his tongue slipped between, teasing. Beth let her body mold to his, her tongue responding to his, kissing him back. She could feel his heat through her clothes, his hardness against her.

It was a long, passionate kiss, and she wanted to sink into the grass with him and just be.

“Beau? Is that you?” Katie hung over the side of the wagon.

Beau dropped his hands and straightened. Beth sank back against the wagon, her legs like spaghetti. He had literally taken her breath away. He shook his head, blinked, then bent down so he could look her in the eye. His face was inches from hers.

“Beth?” Beau whispered, his voice thick with emotion. Then he groaned, "I thought you were somebody else."

"Sorry to disappoint." Beth looked up at the young woman watching them, willing herself to be strong and tough. She stood up straight, wiped off her mouth and climbed back on the wagon. Thankfully, everyone’s attention was still focused on Cole, who leapt around the wagon as he moaned and groaned and grabbed at people. He hopped off one side, then climbed up the other, greeted by fresh shouts and squeals.

Katie grabbed Beth's arm and helped her up. She squinted into the darkness and asked, “Who was that?”

Just then, Cole stood on the back of the tractor and howled like a banshee, which made everyone jump and laugh and cheer all over again.

Moments later, Beau jumped up on the front of the wagon, howling and carrying on. Katie wove through the group to hug Beau. Beth's smile melted.

Beau pulled away, his arm still hooked around Katie. He looked at Beth, and their gaze locked for a heartbeat.

It was Katie.

How could she have missed that? She swallowed hard and turned away.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

B
reakfast the morning after the big hay ride was late as usual, and everyone gathered around the table to share gossip from the night before. The biggest news involved Beau’s Aunt Lana. Several people had witnessed her big purple rig pull out with a man in the passenger seat. Cole reported that her stuff had been moved out of the little cabin.

Eyebrows raised, and comments were made, but Beau appeared in the doorway and said, "She's gone. Good riddance. Now, everybody's got work to do and the day's a wastin'."

The tension in the room was palpable.

Beth excused herself, then Cole and Joe escaped to the barn. As soon as Katie left to feed the horses,
Charlotte flipped two blueberry pancakes onto Beau’s plate.

Shep licked his lips and Beau pulled off a little bite of pancake, which the dog took from his master’s hand. Beau poured on the thick maple syrup and dug in.
Charlotte sat down at the end of the table and rested her chin in her hand, and watched him eat. He paused, his fork in mid-air. Syrup drooped from the pancake. He looked at his old friend and raised his eyebrows.

“What?”

“What, what?” Charlotte asked, raising her own eyebrows in an attempt at innocence. She didn't succeed. They had known each other far too long.

Beau stuck the fork in his mouth and talked through the pancake, “What do you want?”

“What makes you think I want something?” Charlotte countered.

“You never give me extra pancakes without me asking unless you want something.” He leaned back in his chair and patted his stomach, “You usually tell me to cut back.”

“I guess there’s no sense in beatin’ around the bush,” she said. He waited for her to go ahead and say what was on her mind. “OK. Beth

has tickets to go see the opera in the City tonight. She was supposed to go with her ex-fiance, but he had to work. She's been on the phone all morning trying to find someone to go with her and nobody can go.”

“So? What do you want me to do about it?” he asked, chewing.

“I want you to take her,”
Charlotte said. Beau choked, coughing and wheezing. Shep woofed.

“You don’t mean that,” he said as he recovered. He wiped a tear from his eye with his napkin.

“I most certainly do.”

“I don’t do opera.”

“Listen, that poor girl moved out here to save this ranch. She hasn’t had any culture since she came out here, and it'd do you good to have a little culture in your life.”

Charlotte
stood up to slice and juice the oranges lined up on the counter. “I’m not asking you to go spend the weekend with her. I’m not asking you to join no doggone opera. I’m asking you to do something nice for John's daughter.”

Beau pushed a bite of pancake around on his plate, considering his options. He had no desire to go listen to some stupid fat lady. It was silly to pay money to hear somebody sing when you couldn’t even understand the words. And he certainly didn’t like the idea of being that close to his boss for an extended period of time. Just the car ride there and back would be difficult, sitting close to her, talking to her.

After that botched kiss last night, he couldn’t get her out of his mind. He should've stopped as soon as he realized he hadn't grabbed Katie, but he didn't. Beth kissed back. Had she known it was him right from the start?

Charlotte
prompted, "So?"

On the other hand, Beth had given up a lot to take over her father’s ranch when the old man died. He watched his old friend rub the oranges on the juicer, and contemplated whether or not he should tell her why he had reservations about going on what might be considered a date with his boss.

Charlotte mumbled, “Beth was so desperate, she called Gina from the scrapbook store, but she's tied up with the fair board meeting tonight and can’t miss it. Gina called me and suggested I see if you'd take Beth.”

“Oh?” He poked the last of the pancake into his mouth and chewed.

Charlotte
put the juice pitcher in the refrigerator, then turned to face him. Her brow was bunched up frown. "Do you not want to go because of Katie?"

His fork fell to the table with a clatter. "What?" He snatched it up and frowned at his plate.

"I know you've been seeing her. Are you afraid she'll be mad if you go out with Beth?"

"No, it's just a casual thing. Katie's too young for me." But Beth wasn't. One night wouldn’t be that bad. Surely he could control himself for one night, and not make a total fool of himself. He tossed back the last drink of
Charlotte’s specially brewed coffee. “Fine, I’ll go talk to her. If she wants me to go with her, I’ll go.”

Charlotte
beamed, “Thank you, Beau. She’s in the library.”

Beau swiped a napkin across his mouth with the back of his hand and pushed away from the table. Shep followed him into the hallway. Just as Beau lifted his hand to knock, the door swung open and he and Beth were face to face. She blinked.

“Were you looking for me?” She asked, pink coloring her cheeks.

“Yes. Miss Charlotte told me that you’re in a bind tonight?” The words tumbled over each other in a rush.

"In a bind?” she asked as she tilted her head to the side and looking up at him with wide eyes.

“Do you want me to go with you?” he said, sounding more impatient than he intended.

Her hand flew to her mouth and she stifled a laugh. “To the opera? Somehow, I just can’t picture you at the opera.”

“Frankly, neither can I, but that’s not the kind of thing you’d want to do by yourself. And you deserve a night out. A nice night out.” He closed his eyes, and willed himself to quit babbling like some stupid kid. When he opened his eyes, Beth's lips were pursed as she regarded him.

“Really? You’d do that for me?” She pushed a stray curl out of her eyes and looked up at him with emerald green eyes that reminded him of new grass in the spring.

“Sure. I mean, the opera isn’t my idea of a great time, but I guess going on a hay ride wasn’t your idea of a great time either, right?” He immediately regretted bringing up the hay ride. He felt his neck redden at the memory, the passion, of that kiss.

Stop!

“That most certainly was not my idea of a good time,” Beth frowned. “But I do appreciate your offer to go with me to the opera. You might enjoy it. It’s Don Giovanni.”

“I’ve never seen him. Is he any good?”

“Don Giovanni is the name of the opera. It’s about a ladies’ man, and how he gets his comeuppance.” She crossed her arms over her chest. "Are you sure Katie won't mind if you go?"

Beau's mouth dropped open. "Katie and I have just gone out a time or two. She's just a kid."

Beth pointed out, "She's not a kid anymore." The gray tabby darted between Beth’s legs, stopped to hiss at Shep then ran down the hallway with his tail held high.

“So, do you want me to go with you or not?” Beau pressed. He felt foolish for offering to go with her. She'd probably already lined up someone to go with her. And even if she didn’t, she’d probably prefer to go by herself than with some rough old cowboy like him.

“You know, this is nice of you,” Beth dropped her hands to her sides. “If you really don’t mind going, I would appreciate the company.”

“It’s settled then.”