Page 4 of Make Her Mine
“Kickmyass?” He gave it one shake. “You sure about that?”
Shrieking, I glared at him. “Stop! If you make me fall, Mom will kill you for getting this floor all bloody. And God forbid my head bust open and my brains get all over this floor, Kyle Finley!”
“Yeah, the new owners might slip on your gore and fire us all.” He laughed, then walked out of the room.
Kyle worked with our father who has been the foreman on the ranch since before any of us were even born. He and Mr. Gentry were as close to being friends as that old bastard ever got to be with anyone else. Perhaps ‘cause Dad understood the cranky old man.
The door opened again, and I chastised myself for not having the job done yet. Luckily it was Dad who walked inside.
“You better hurry the hell up, Ella. They should be here any second now. The only reason I came inside was to greet them when they arrive. And I can see up your skirt. You need to wear bigger knickers, young lady.”
Using one hand to dust and the other to hold my skirt closer, I muttered, “I don’t want to wear bigger panties. I want to stop wearing this stupid maid’s uniform and wear jeans, a t-shirt, and some freaking tennis shoes. These dumb maid shoes look horrible. And I’d love it if my job never entailed getting up on a ladder in the first place so people could see up my damn skirt.”
“Try your best to curtail your sass, Ella.” Dad gestured for me to get down. “Come on, that’s good enough. I know your momma thinks every little thing needs to shine to impress these men, but they won’t give a lick about a little dust. And their first impression shouldn’t be one where your undies are showing.”
I nearly had it done anyway. “Dad, I’m almost finished. Momma will send me back up here to finish the job. And you dang well know she’ll do it, too.”
“Well, just scurry then.” He left the lobby, shaking his head as he mumbled, “That girl is going to be the next to go. I just know it.”
Like I cared if the new guys fired me. I could get another job. Most likely one with better pay. Of course, I hadn’t gone to college after graduating from high school. That shouldn’t be important in getting a great paying job.
My parents had been asking me since my twenty-first birthday a month ago about what I’d like to do for a profession. When I told them it would be fun to be a stand-up comedian, they laughed at me. That proved I could be successful as a comic since I’d made them laugh without even trying.
However, I hadn’t really meant that. I didn’t know what I wanted to be. So, for now, a maid was it. One day that would change—I just knew it would.
“And this is the ceremonial entrance to your new home, gentlemen,” came a voice from behind me.
Looking back, I saw that lawyer Mr. Gentry had around the place a lot during the last year when he was sick. He was bringing the new owners through the back entrance, and they caught me with my guard down.
“Oh, shit!” Scrambling down the ladder, I skipped a rung and began a fall that was sure to leave me looking like an idiot as my body splayed out on the granite floor.
Only I didn’t hit the floor. Instead, a pair of strong arms caught me. “Got ya.”
Opening my eyes, which I had squeezed shut while falling, I saw his eyes first. Blue like the sky, they twinkled as he looked down at me.
“Put me down! I didn’t ask for your help.”Damn, he’s hot! Too hot!His dark hair made those blue eyes really stand out. And talk about muscles! Whoa!
I looked at the three new owners and found them all pretty damn devastating. But the one who caught me really shook me up. And I don’t get shook up. Not ever.
“Sorry if I offended you by saving your neck.” He placed my feet on the floor.
Straightening out my shirt and skirt, I then ran my hand through my pony to make sure it was on point. “You didn’tsaveme.”
The man’s eyes scanned me. “I, at the very least, saved you from an embarrassing fall. Some people would say thank you.”
“I have cat-like reflexes. You’d have seen them in action had you kept your meaty paws to yourself.” Going to take the ladder down, I found the man stepping in front of me, taking it down himself. “I…”
“No, I’ve got this.” Tucking the ladder under his arm, an arm with a massive bicep bulging under the long-sleeve brown tee he wore, he kept his eyes on me. “I’m Brandon. And you are?”
“The maid.” I reached out to take the ladder from him. “If my mom, who’s also the house manager, catches you taking that out she’ll kill me. I don’t need that today. Not with you guys here.”
The lawyer seemed taken aback as he said, “Who the hell are you?”
Mom and Dad walked into the room, both with ashen faces as my father said, “That’s Ella, our youngest.” He looked at me with a grim expression. “Get that ladder and work elsewhere, Ella.”
The man who caught me shook his head. “She’s much too small to be carrying this around. I’ll put it up. Come on, Ella. Show me where this thing goes. And by the way, these are my brothers, Clayton and Dyllan. ”
“Duh.” I led the way out of the room, ignoring my parents’ dropped jaws. “Come on. I’ll show you. What did you say your name is again? I missed it.” He kind of made me all wiggly inside, including inside my brain.
