Denim & Diamonds Read Online Free

lot, nestled between a rusty truck and an old Blazer covered in mud. Beau pulled into the gravel lot and beeped the horn twice. When they got out, Beth noticed he left the keys dangling from the ignition switch. She started to say something and then stopped herself. Better to watch, listen and learn.
    A grease-covered man who appeared to be in his late fifties came out of the service bay, wiping his hands on a red rag. “Good mornin’, Beau.”
    “Morning, Cletus.” Beau motioned towards Beth, “This is Beth Jameson, Mr. Jameson’s daughter. It’s her car that you towed this morning.”
    Cletus nodded at Beth, “Pleased to meet ya, Miss Jameson.”
    “Please, call me Beth.” She walked around her car, leaning close to examine the dents and dings.
    Cletus tucked the rag into his back pocket. "I hear Katie's comin' home today."

Beau leaned against his truck. "Yeah. I'm sure she'll swing by the ranch after she checks in at home."
    Beth ran her finger over a jagged scratch on the driver's side of the car. Every scratch made her cringe. That car had been the biggest purchase she’d ever made. It was her symbol of success, purchased when she got her first big raise. She straightened and turned towards the two men. “Thank you for towing my car. It doesn’t look too bad, but it’ll need some work.”
    “Yes, ma’am, but not much. Got a hole in the oil pan, driver’s side quarter panel is dented pretty bad and your bumper’ll have to be replaced.” Cletus scratched his head, leaving a greasy shock of dark hair sticking straight up. “Have to order the parts, since it’s one a’ them foreign jobs. Should be done in, oh, two weeks. Mebbe three.”
    Beth cocked one eyebrow in disbelief, “Two or three weeks? Why so long?”
    “Oh, I just don’t want to promise somethin’ I cain’t deliver, Miss Jameson. And George Holloway is puttin’ up a new barn that I said I’d help with. I done promised him, so I gotta do that first.” Cletus grinned, his two missing teeth making him look like a jack o’ lantern.
    Her mouth dropped open at his reply. She looked to Beau, who shrugged. "We got plenty of vehicles at the Ranch. You can borrow or somebody can drive you, if you need to go anywhere.”
    The fact that he didn't offer to drive her himself wasn't lost on her. A shiver ran up her spine at the memory of being beside him in his truck, her shirt plastered against her body, his gentle touch on her face . . .
    Someday, she wanted the storybook life, maybe in a town just like this, in a little house with a white picket fence, a couple of kids and a dog. Home had been her dream since her parents had divorced and her mother moved from man to man. Her dream was on the verge of becoming reality.
    Beau might well be the one standing in her way, yet she couldn’t get him out of her mind. She pressed her lips together, irritated at herself. She was doing just fine on her own. She didn’t need to be

looking for a boyfriend just because she was feeling lonely out here, out of her comfort zone.
    After looking up and down Main Street again, she decided she really didn’t have much of an option. She sighed and said, “I guess that’ll work. Can you give me an estimate before you start the work?”
    “Well,” Cletus said, drawing the word out into two syllables, “It’ll be hard to know how much ‘til I get in there. Want me to give Beau a call when I got it tore up?”
    The man exasperated her more with every word. She looked at Beau, who was making no attempt to conceal his grin. She gave up, closed her eyes and took a deep breath, “Just fix it, please. And call me as soon as it’s done.”
    Cletus nodded and grinned, “I kin drive the car out to the ranch for ya, once the work was done.”
    Beth nodded, “I’d appreciate that, thank you.”
    His head bobbed on his thin neck and he said, “I’ll get your bags for you, Miss Jameson.”
    She glanced at his grease-covered overalls and the dirt embedded under his