Denim & Diamonds Read Online Free PDF Page A

work here again this summer?"
    "As long as you're okay with it, yes. I'm sure she'd like the chance to earn a little extra money, but she'll work for nothin', too." The older woman's eyes twinkled, "But don't tell her I told you that!"

"I don't see any reason why we can't continue to have her work here." Beth rolled her shoulders back and stretched. "I need to have a meeting with the employees. Introduce myself. Can you let everyone know to meet me right before dinner, this afternoon?”
    Charlotte's thick eyebrows arched. “I - I guess I can do that.”
    “Good,” Beth said, feeling better as soon as she took action, a step towards completing her father’s wishes and earning the inheritance that was rightfully hers. “Is there a place we can meet?”
    Charlotte shrugged, then offered, “The kitchen?”
    “The kitchen will be fine. I’ll see you there at 5.”
    Charlotte inclined her head in acknowledgement, then slipped from the room without another word when Beth turned her attention to the Will. After the housekeeper's footsteps faded down the hallway, Beth sank back in the chair and wondered if she was doing the right thing. Though running a ranch was way out of her comfort zone, a fresh start was exactly what she needed after what had happened with Quinn. The ranch wasn't quite the house in the suburbs she had imagined, but maybe it could become home.
    Besides, now that she was getting a glimpse of the father she hadn’t known, part of her wished she had made more of an effort. Perhaps this was her last chance to prove herself to her father.
    At five sharp, Charlotte had everyone assembled in the kitchen, as instructed. Beth had spent the afternoon in her father’s library, making notes and jotting ideas for running a successful, profitable ranch. She loved a challenge, and she loved numbers. This was a challenge she was determined to win. Perhaps when Beau understood that she had a plan, and wanted to continue her father’s work, he’d help her. She left the library, her kitten heels clicking on the hardwood floor of the hallway.
    The voices in the kitchen grew quiet before she entered the room. All eyes turned toward her, intent and curious. She hoped to make a strong first impression. It had taken her forever to settle on jeans and a simple black blouse. Her red curls were pulled back into a severe bun to keep them under control.

Beau leaned out and looked down at her shoes. It was clear from his expression that he thought heels had no place on a ranch. She glanced down at them, suddenly self-conscious.
    Without preamble, she started her speech, which she had rehearsed over and over in her mind since the moment she learned of the terms of her father’s will. “My father left the ranch to me, his only surviving child. There is a provision that the ranch must be profitable for the next year, and I will do everything in my power to earn the trust he placed in me.”
    She paused to look around the room, to make eye contact with each individual. “No one’s job is in danger. I will do my best to be a fair and impartial employer. In return, I trust that each of you will do your job well, just as you did while you worked for my father.”
    After she finished, Beau cleared his throat.
    “Miss Jameson, we’ve all worked for your father a long time. Your father treated us well, and we would do anything for him. We’re all determined to keep the Diamond J Ranch in the family ,” he stressed the last word, then paused and looked around the room, “I think I speak for all of us.”
    His suggestion brought a murmur of agreement from the ranch hands. She saw the fear and distrust in everyone’s eyes. They didn’t know her. In her head, she expected that. In her heart, it hurt.
    “But it’s my understanding, from what your daddy told me,” the ranch manager continued in his slow drawl, “That you’re a city girl. So, we hope you don’t go changing things too much around here. No offense intended,