The Bride Wore Denim Read Online Free PDF Page B

pleasant features, and she caught a knowing little smile at the word chicken . “I’m sorry for that, but even though this is one of the hardest days of my life, of all our lives, the rest of the world doesn’t stop. And business must be discussed.”
    “You don’t need to do this.” Her mother’s soft voice juxtaposed with Grandma’s slight rasp. “I can handle—”
    “Isabella, you sit now and let the children comfort you. I don’t have much left to do on this earth, but I can still act the part of the testy old matriarch. Your time will come quite soon enough.”
    “Don’t say that, Grandma,” Kelly said. “Today we need to think you’re staying with us forever.”
    “Hush, child. I appreciate the sentiment, but that’s far from the point. I have called you all here today because you’re entitled to know the state of the ranch your father left to you, and the struggle your mother has in front of her. Let me say right up front that Bella has my highest respect. If my Sam was the backbone and heart of Paradise Ranch, she’s been the blood. And Leif and Bjorn have been the muscle and bone.”
    Sadie’s pale eyes slid around the room, missing nothing, hiding nothing.
    “The rest of you,” she continued, “have fallen far short over the past decade. And we are about to pay the piper.”
    A punch to Harper’s heart was echoed by the collective gasp around the room. A quick glance proved that everyone felt the sting of the blunt criticism.
    “Oh, Sadie, come now—” Her mother stood.
    “No, Bella.” Grandma Sadie put up a hand. “This is not the time for pussyfooting. Paradise is in trouble, and the girls need to know it.”
    “Trouble?” Harper blurted out the word. “What possible kind of trouble? I don’t understand.”
    “That is true. You could not understand.”
    She took in her sisters’ faces; each one looked like someone had slapped her puppy. Harper couldn’t deny the sense of guilt building inside, but there was no point in acting wounded now. They’d all made choices.
    “Then it is good you called us here. Sounds like we need . . . enlightenment.”
    Cole rested a hand on her shoulder and gave her a thumbs-up.
    “Thank you,” Sadie said. “Enlightenment is a good word. Something neither I nor your mother could ever get your father to embrace. He insisted the problems no longer concerned you girls. He was not going to use the threat of financial deterioration to guilt you into coming home. I, however, have no such compunction. I’m very old. Too old to mince words. Paradise Ranch is, for all intents and purposes, nearly out of money. And everybody in this room needs to think about what’s going to happen next.”
    Another round of gasps and murmurs spilled through the office. Out of money? Harper’s jaw slackened. Only three faces besides Grandma Sadie’s registered no shock—her mother’s, Leif’s, and Bjorn’s. It wasn’t at all clear yet how long this had been brewing, but obviously the topic was not new to the family leaders.
    “All right,” Harper said, since even super-practical Mia was still staring dumbly. “What exactly do we need to know?”
    “To start with, you all need to understand that the cost of every single basic need on this ranch has skyrocketed in the past decade: fuel, feed, equipment repair, wages, transportation, veterinary care. Everything.”
    “But hasn’t the price of beef gone up as well?” Cole asked. “The cattle industry is in a boom period—aren’t the rising costs covered?”
    “Cattle ranchers across the country took a big hit several years ago when that wasn’t the case. Ranchers were forced to diversify to survive.”
    A sudden spark of angry understanding ran through Harper’s body and she stood. “You mean they’re calling in the oil and gas companies.”
    “That’s always been an important option. It’s long-term security if there’s oil on the land,” Amelia said.
    “It’s no option.” Harper tried hard