“Joe Cooper is the best of the best.” Dim light glinted off the silver and pearl snaps on Grace’s western shirt. “You won’t find anyone better than him. He has done everything from running the ranch to handling the business side. Your father relied heavily on him and trusted him completely and the ranch hands respect him.”
“What’s so special about him?” Brianna asked. “This is a rough economy. I’m sure there are plenty of other foremen who would take the job.”
“Sure there are,” Grace said. “But none are like Joe.”
“If he’s so good then why is the ranch doing so poorly?”
“Times have been hard for everyone.” Grace spoke patiently. “My ranch, and every ranch around here, is struggling, too. A number of them have failed and the properties have gone back to the banks. But Joe has a plan and it’s a good one. I might follow his lead for my own ranch.”
With a feeling of irritation, Brianna pushed her hair out of her face. “He didn’t act like a subordinate should.”
“Just remember,” Grace said. “This isn’t Boston and whatever else you’re used to. As I said, Joe knows this business as well as anyone and he is as loyal as they come. You don’t know the business. You need that man.”
As Brianna tried to think of something to say, Grace continued. “Think about it.” She inclined her head toward the barn entrance. “Just wanted to welcome you. If I helped you with advice and you keep Joe, maybe the timing wasn’t so bad. I’ve got to get back to my ranch.” She smiled. “It’s been a pleasure.”
“Yes, it has.” Brianna tried to smile in return.
Checkers’ hooves made a clip-clopping sound as she and Grace headed out the barn door. Brianna thought about what the woman had to say. Had she made a mistake by letting Joe go?
“No.” She set her chin. “I don’t need someone like that who won’t respect authority and my ideas.”
Yet he hadn’t seemed like the type to not be respectful. Just the opposite.
A feeling of unease settled in her stomach that grew into a sense of fear. What was she going to do with running a ranch without the foreman? She was business savvy but she knew nothing about ranching.
Pride warred within her. Should she go after Joe and approach him about staying?
Or should she stick to her guns and find a new foreman?
Her thoughts turned to Joe telling her she should be spanked. The idea of being spanked by Joe wasn’t an altogether unpleasant thought.
She groaned. How did things get so screwed up?
Chapter 9
When she left the barn, the shouts of the cowboys and the bawl of the calves told Brianna the men had gone back to work. She felt a measure of relief, but it vanished as she realized she had to figure out how to find a new foreman. She didn’t know the first place to start. If Grace wasn’t so pro-Joe, she could have asked her.
She decided to call another meeting later and made her way back to the ranch house where she wiped the mud off the soles of her flats on the doormat. Mud still clung to the sides of her shoes and she tried to brush it off with her fingers. The shoes weren’t very practical, but they were pretty. She set them beside the door then headed to the bathroom, washed the mud off her fingers, then went into her bedroom. The books for the ranch were on her laptop in her ruined briefcase, which Joe had apparently wiped off before putting it in her room. At least her laptop had made it okay.
With her laptop held close to her chest, she wandered through the house as she tried to get to know it again. It was a sprawling ranch house with five bedrooms, three bathrooms, the large kitchen and a study. The study was perfect for her to get some work done.
Two hours later, Brianna wanted to bang her head against the desktop. She’d tried to find a foreman but everything she tried headed right into a dead end. The first place she had called had been the local employment office and the man who had answered the phone had started coughing, sounding like he was trying to hold back laughter while he told her that ranch hands and foremen didn’t use an employment office to search for a job. A pleasant lady at the Chamber of Commerce told her she would need to call other ranchers.
A black address book was in the desk with names and phone numbers scrawled in a tight script that was difficult to read. She went through the book and started making calls. The ranchers she talked to expressed disbelief that Joe was leaving the Diamond B and wanted to know how to reach him. Likely wanting to hire him. She found Grace’s phone number but decided to use Grace as a last resort.
Brianna had looked over the books and still didn’t see how the ranch was going to make it. She had found the documentation where some of the ranch land had been parceled out, and was under contract but, it hadn’t been sold and there was no guarantee that it would. Joe had sounded so positive, like it was a fact, something she couldn’t see in black and white.
She decided she’d had enough and she needed to go check on her operation. Now that she was the owner she needed to be more hands on.
After slipping on her shoes, she walked out the front door and saw a familiar form—Joe. He was near the corral, talking to a couple of the ranch hands. She felt a combination of irritation that Joe was still here and a sense of pleasure that confused her.
He didn’t look at her as she walked up. “Henry, you make those repairs to the fence line along the west pasture.” Joe looked to the other ranch hand. “Larry—”
“Wait a minute.” Brianna cut in and the two cowboys looked at her.
She faced the ranch hand. “Get out of here while I talk with Joe.”
The cowboy scowled and glanced at Joe who gave a nod. Anger flushed through her. Even though she had fired Joe, he was still giving the ranch hands orders.
“Go on.” Brianna made a “scoot along” wave of her fingers.
Larry turned and brushed into Brianna as he walked by her. “Bitch,” he said under his breath.
Joe’s eyes were dark with anger and his jaw tightened as he stepped toward the ranch hand and drove his fist into the cowboy’s jaw. The man’s hat went flying and he landed flat on his backside.
Joe’s voice was hard as the ranch hand rubbed his jaw and looked up at him from the ground obviously trying to get his bearings back.
“Don’t ever bump into or talk to a woman like that. You hear me?”
“Yes, boss.” The cowboy nodded, the anger on his features turning into embarrassment.
“Now get on out of here.” Joe said.
The cowboy staggered to his feet, grabbed his hat, and headed toward the far side of the corral.
Brianna’s jaw had dropped. Her gaze went from Larry to Joe. “Well, thank you,” she said.
“Don’t thank me. I’d do that for any woman.” Joe’s jaw was tight as he looked at Brianna. “But I’ll tell you this, if you were a man I would have hit you. You don’t treat an employee like that. You don’t treat anyone like that.”
She pushed aside his comment as her anger returned. “What are you doing on my property? I told you to leave.”
Joe put one hand on the gate to the corral. “I told your daddy I would see this through and I aim to keep my promise.”
She clenched her fists at her side. “Leave.”
“Lady, you’ll have to call the sheriff if you want me gone,” his gaze was dark and a part of her wanted to draw back. “I don’t give a damn if you pay me or not. I’m not leaving until this ranch is back on its feet and turning a profit.” He didn’t wait for her to answer and opened the corral gate. “If there’s nothing else, I have work to do.”
For a moment she couldn’t think of what to say.
“I didn’t think so,” he said then slammed the gate behind him.
She just stared at it.
A part of her was furious at Joe; another part embarrassed at how a cowboy had ended up at her feet; and admiration that Joe intended to see this through, keeping his promise to her father.
Through the wooden bars of the corral fence she saw Joe astride a saddled horse. It wa
s her pride that she had to beat into submission as she forced herself to walk to the corral. It was too high to get a good look over so she climbed up so that her feet were on the bottom rail and she was gripping the top rail. Her flats slipped and she almost fell. Maybe she hadn’t picked the best clothes to wear out here.
The way he had stood up for her excited her in ways she would never have expected. He was tough and rugged. He was a man who took control and did what he thought was right and to hell with the consequences.
How can I be thinking this?
She took a deep breath. “Joe,” she said then called out his name a second time. “Joe.”
He glanced at her, a hard look still on his face but he made a clicking sound to the horse and tugged on the reins, then trotted to where she clung to the rail.
The cowboy was so good looking that she had a hard time focusing on what she needed to say. His sleeves were rolled up showing his tanned skin, his clothing was dusty and there was a light sheen of sweat on his face and forearms.
She swallowed. “I want to invite you to dinner tonight.”
He narrowed his gaze.
She gripped the wood rail tighter. “I think we need to talk about it and work things out.”
“All right.” His horse sidestepped as he drawled out the words.
“Drop by at seven.” She gave a hesitant smile.
He didn’t return the smile. He gave her a single nod before turning his horse away and heading back to work.
Nerves caused a small storm in Brianna’s belly. Not only was she going to ask him to take his job back but he was a man she found attractive. More than attractive.
Clad only in hot pink and black panties, she searched through the closet to find something to wear. She had hung up her clothes earlier but everything was wrinkled. She frowned. What should she wear?
She turned away from her closet and froze. Joe stood in the doorway.
A part of her realized she hadn’t closed the door. Another part of her wondered what Joe was doing in the house. Mostly she was embarrassed as hell at being caught almost naked.
She crossed her arms over her chest. “What are you doing here?” Her cheeks burned as she hurried to the bed to grab the robe she had used earlier when she had taken a shower. “What are you doing in the house?”
He hadn’t averted his eyes from the moment she had come out of the closet. “For one thing, I live here.” His drawl was so sexy it undid her. “Secondly, I was passing by your room to give you something.”
She tightened the tie around her robe. “I don’t understand.”
He gave a nod toward the back of the house. “I live in the guest house off the sitting room.” Before she could say anything, he raised a large package. “Have this for you.”
Surprised, her eyes widened. She hadn’t noticed that he was carrying the box.
He extended his arm, holding out the box. “Thought you might like it.”
She looked up as she took it from him. Being so close to him made her belly flip flop even more and she hurried to step away, holding the package to her chest. “Thank you,” she said.
He gave a nod and turned away and closed the door behind him.
The box was only lightly taped and she opened it easily. Her breath caught as she brought out a long western-style denim skirt and a white western shirt with silver and pearl snaps like Grace’s shirt.
Beneath that was a black silk and satin corset. Her heart started beating a little faster. Almost raunchy but sexy.
At the bottom of the box was a pair of boots. They were new, brown leather. Guess it was his way of helping her look like she belonged on the ranch.
She put on the corset then slipped on the clothes. Everything fit her perfectly, as if Joe had taken her measurements, right down to her boots. She looked in the mirror and smiled. She’d never had a man pick out clothes for her. It was the most thoughtful gift she had ever received. There was something about a tough cowboy who could pick out an outfit he wanted to see her in.
When she was dressed she went to the living room to where Joe waited. Her mortification of being caught in only her panties had kept her from studying him and now she took a moment to take him in. He looked so good in a black western shirt, a black cowboy hat, a pair of nice jeans, and polished black boots.
His brilliant blue eyes took her in and she could see appreciation in his gaze. “You’re beautiful.” The way he said the words told her that he meant them.
“Thank you.” She smiled at him. “Where’s the best place to go.”
“You like Mexican food?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” she said. “Mexican food isn’t common in Boston, and what’s there is not very good. I’d like to try it here.”
He gave a nod. “I know the right place.”
The restaurant was within the town limits but it was large and it was busy. After he held the door open for her and she got out of his truck, he escorted her into the restaurant.
The smells were amazing as they entered the place. The walls were painted bright colors of dark blue, red, yellow, and pink, each wall a different color than the wall it touched. All of them were covered with things that Joe explained were from Mexico. Serapes, piñatas, figurines, pictures, brilliant bouquets of flowers—too many things adorned the walls than she could absorb on one visit.
He ordered for both of them, taco and enchilada combination plates with refried beans and Spanish rice, along with a margarita each.
The margarita was strong, sending warmth through her and she wondered how well she would handle the tequila. She wasn’t much of a drinker.
She couldn’t help but think about how amazing he looked. He had taken off his hat when they entered the restaurant. His black hair looked soft and she imagined sliding her hands into it and letting the strands slip through her fingers.
His skin would be smooth beneath her lips from having just been shaved. She caught the spicy scent of his shaving cream and pictured him in the bathroom shaving his face just to go out to dinner with her.
His shirt fit him just right, and she thought about how his muscular body would look as she ran the pads of her fingers over his bare shoulders, along his biceps, across his chest and down his abs to the promise of an exciting time ahead.
The way he looked at her during dinner sent thrills through her belly that moved between her thighs and caused her to squirm. She couldn’t read his expression, but there was an electric feeling between them that had her belly flipping all night. She’d thought more than once about those strong hands of his taking control and spanking her.
For cripes sake, Brianna. Get a hold of yourself.
She was so aware of him in a sexual way that she had a hard time concentrating on his words as she asked him questions. She sipped her margarita while Joe answered all that she wanted to know about the area, the nearby ranches, and things about the day-to-day operations of the Diamond B.
“How long did you work for my father?” She was determined to get her head on straight as she asked the question.
“Twelve years.” He took a swallow of his second margarita. “I came from a ranch on the other side of Patagonia. Grew up there. Hell, my extended family practically owns all the businesses in the area. The only ranchers with bigger operations than the Coopers are the Camerons.”
She asked questions about his family and learned that his cousin was the sheriff, and his other uncles and cousins owned businesses that included a law firm, a bar, a feed and tack store, a real estate company, and more. He also had a cousin who was a well-known and popular bull rider.
By the time they finished dinner, he knew quite a bit about her, things he hadn’t already known from her father. Her mother had always said her father wasn’t much of a talker, but he sure had confided a lot in Grace and Joe.
Brianna asked questions about Joe but had a harder time getting answers from him. Other than talking a little about his extended family, he didn’t tell her much that was personal. b
efore changing the subject back to her.
He selected a Mexican dessert called flan for them to share, passing on the fried ice cream. As they ate the odd but delicious custard dessert she decided it was time to talk.
“I’m sorry about the way I handled things today.” She set her fork on the plate. “I’m a business woman, but I don’t know the first thing about running a ranch. I should have talked with you about things before I charged in.”
Joe’s gaze was steady. “Yeah, you should have.”
She didn’t know what she had hoped for except maybe for him to say “That’s all right,” or “I understand.” Apparently he wasn’t going to make it that easy for her.
“I would like to get with you tomorrow and go over the books and the plans you spoke of,” she said. “I went over everything again and it still looks like the ranch is in trouble.”
He held her gaze and nodded. “After I wrap things up for the day, I’ll head on over.”
“I’ll be in the study.” She picked up her dessert fork. “And we’ll get on it.” She paused. “Joe, what do you think of me?”
He studied her for a long time. “You are professional and handle yourself well. You are perfectly capable, but you come in here and act like you know it all. You need to spend time understanding things. It’s just never going to work if you act like you have all the answers when you don’t. This is a tough business even for the experienced.”
Even though she had asked the question, she hadn’t expected the direct way he spoke even though she should have.
“First thing you did when you started running things was show no respect for the men. You need to respect them and they’ll respect you.”
She thought about what he’d said. “No one has ever talked to me that way.”
He swallowed his forkful of flan before he said, “Seems like it’s time someone did.”
Chapter 10
The ride back to the ranch was quiet as Brianna digested what Joe had said to her. When she thought about it, she knew he was right. If she wanted to gain respect from the ranch hands, she had to give it first.
Lipstick and Leather (Rough and Ready Book 7) Page 6
