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

invitations to the barbecue.”
    Charlotte nodded her approval. He briefly ran through the conversation and events at the store earlier in the afternoon. He finished, “So the invitations’ll be ready Monday.”
    Charlotte steepled her fingers in front of her as she considered the situation. “And you want to know if you should pick them up or have someone else do it?”
    “Right.” He wanted an excuse to see her.
    “And you’re worried about her bringing a date to the barbecue.”
    His shoulders drooped. “Right.”
    She sipped her tea, her index finger tapping the side of the cup thoughtfully. “Well, I think you should go pick up the invitations yourself. Get to know her a little better before you start worrying about a date that she may or may not bring to the barbecue.”
    He nodded, took a couple of gulps of his tea, and set the cup down with a thump. “You sure I should go pick them up?” A frown furrowed his brow as he stared down at the half empty cup.
    "She's not Tracy." Charlotte's voice was soft, kind.
    At the mention of his ex-girlfriend, Aidan felt a surge of anger. "I know." They'd dated for several months before she'd shown her true colors.
    "I know how disappointed you were when she started planning how to spend your trust fund."
    He huffed out a sigh. His mouth curled up in a wry smile. "She racked up all that credit card debt, and though I'd pay it off for her."
    "Don't judge this new gal based on what someone else did."
    "I wish I hadn't told anybody about that money.”
    Charlotte lifted one shoulder. "Your last name is Brackston. That name shows up all over this state. People are bound to put two and two together."
    "Thanks for the tea." He scooted his chair back.
    He let himself out the back door and headed for the barn to round up fencing supplies and help. He trusted Charlotte. She and Mr. Jameson had had a strong, steady relationship for years. Theirs was a love that was comfortable and nothing like the convenience that seemed to hold his own parents’ marriage together.
    He wanted to feel a love that deep someday.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER FIVE
    Falling in Like
     
    As Aidan and Joe, the other ranch hand, worked on the fence that afternoon, he thought about what Charlotte said. The more the thought about it, the more he thought he would go pick the invitations up himself. If Gina was working, he could chat her up a little, find out a little more about her.
    If her friend Midge was working, maybe he’d ask a few questions. That woman was a firecracker if he ever saw one and he’d bet dollars to donuts that Midge would be straight with him. Maybe she’d even give him a few hints and tips. They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Well, he didn’t know what the way to a woman’s heart was, but her friends were definitely the gatekeepers.
    The two men worked hard checking and repairing loose and missing fencing. Much of the woven wire looked good, but they found a section along the north pasture that needed to be replaced. Within a couple of hours of working under the blazing sun, both stripped off their shirts and tossed them on the XRT.
    They stopped a couple of times to drink cold water from the thermos, but neither wasted time talking. Sweat slicked their backs, trickled down their faces, burned their eyes.
    Aidan swiped his arm across his forehead, then grabbed the post driver and slammed it down on the new t-post. Metal clanged against metal, drowning out his grunts. A loose group of cows gathered around, watching the men work.
    Aidan glanced at the animals, then at the fence. Keeping the herd secure was a full-time job. Like most ranchers, they occasionally had a cow get out — usually a young calf. But what worried him the most was the spate of thefts that had plagued the area recently. The entire tri-state area had been affected, but Cardwell County had been hit hard recently. Every animal was at least a thousand bucks on the hoof, probably