Diamond in the Rough (Diamond J #2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

this town.”
    Gina glanced around to make sure no one was listening. Midge had taken the afternoon off since she was working late at the crop that evening. “We were visited by an employee of the Diamond J today, and I wondered if you might know him.”
    Christine’s eyes sparkled at the mention of the legendary Diamond J. “I know several of the folks out there. Charlotte is a dear. And Beau does such a good job of running that place. I thought for sure I’d have a shot at the commission on that place when Jonathan Jameson passed away.” She made a clucking noise. “And I hope if and when his daughter gets tired of living out in the sticks and moves back to Kansas City, she’ll give me a call.”
    Gina liked Christine, but the woman was too focused on money. One shoulder lifted in a half shrug. “This guy is just one of the ranch hands. His name’s Aidan.”
    Christine’s bright lips pressed together in a tight grin and her eyes slid left then right. She leaned forward and whispered conspiratorially, “You mean Aidan Brackston. He’s downright yummy, isn’t he?!”
    One corner of Gina’s mouth twitched up in a grin. Yummy was definitely a good descriptor of the cowboy. She made a rolling motion with her hand. “So, spill. What’s the scoop on him?” Please don’t let him have a girlfriend, please don’t let him have a girlfriend.
    One perfectly drawn eyebrow arched up. Christine whispered, “You understand, this is all just between you and me?”
    Gina nodded eagerly.
    “He’s had me looking for a place for him for ages. He’s very selective. Knows what he wants, and doesn’t want to settle. He’s not in a hurry. Wants just the right thing, not just whatever happens to pop up.”
    Gina blinked. “I thought the Diamond J provided room and board as part of the employment?” Why would anyone pay for a place when they had a place to live for free?
    Christine said, “They do, but that cowboy wants a ranch of his own.”
    “Oh?” After a beat, Gina sighed. Her shoulders drooped. “Oh. He’s getting married or something.”
    Christine shook her head and her dangly earrings swung. “Oh, no! I think this was just for him. Never any mention of a woman, girlfriend or otherwise, and he was always alone when I took him for viewings. No woman would ever move into a house without seeing it first.”
    That was true. “Maybe he’s surprising her?”
    Christine cocked her head as she considered that, then shook her head. “No. He never used the term ‘we’ - it was always ‘I’.”
    Gina turned her attention to the supplies in front of her, processing this new information. She placed her pictures on the layout, moving them to get the placement right. He was available. Single. That was a good thing.
    But how could he afford acreage on a ranch hand’s salary?
    Christine tapped her chin thoughtfully. “The thing that was surprising was what he wanted and what he chose. He was very particular about the architecture of the place. Said he’d really like to have something by Frank Lloyd Wright, but you know there just aren’t many of those here in Wilder. Closest I could find was the Sondern House in Kansas City. It went up for sale in 2003, so I thought the new owners might be persuaded to sell, but no.”
    Gina blinked. Why would a cowboy be interested in Frank Lloyd Wright? How would he even know about an architect like that?
    Christine continued on, warming to the topic. “But when that sprawling Prairie style house on the west side of town came up for sale, I thought of Aidan immediately.”
    “Wait!” Gina looked up from her layout. “You mean the house on Grant Lane? With all the windows and the flat roof?”
    Christine nodded. “Precisely.”
    Gina frowned. “That place looks expensive.” It was all she could do to afford her little two bedroom, one bath house.
    Christine’s eyes flared and her head bobbed. “Yes, it is. The commission would’ve made Christmas very special for my grands