Read Online Lipstick and Leather: Three Sexy Cowboys, Three Sexy Tales by Cheyenne McCray - Free Book Online Page B

said.
    Brianna didn’t know what to say. Thoughts of her father were always accompanied by feelings of abandonment during her childhood years and regret as an adult. She didn’t know until just before he died that her mom had intercepted his letters and cards he sent over the years. It made her sad to think about.
    Grace gestured to the barn entrance. “Why don’t we get back to the mistake you just made?”
    Brianna bristled again, her skin tightening. “Go ahead.”
    “Joe Carter 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 place.” She smiled. “It’s been a pleasure.”
    “Yes, it has.” Brianna tried to smile in return.
    Checkers’s hooves made a clipping sound as she and Grace headed out the barn door as 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 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 3
    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