Thump-thump-thump!

I pound the door with the meaty side of my palm and tilt my head, waiting to hear a noise. Audrey’s room is silent, so I jiggle the handle. It’s not like I’m going to actually open it and walk in or something. I mean, what if she sleeps naked?

The thought stops me cold in my tracks as I imagine her stunning curves gently outlined by nothing but a sheet draped over her.

Damn.

I jangle the doorknob again. “Rise and shine, princess. It’s time to get a move-on!”

“Mmmph,” I hear her come to life.

Thud-thud-thud!

“I’m serious, we’re burning daylight. You’ve gotta get breakfast fixed up so we can get to work,” I bark through the door. I know Travis asked me to ease up on her a bit and quit being so growly, but it’s not like she’s a guest in our home. She’s here to work, dammit.

“I’m up, I’m up,” she mumbles.

I can hear her collapse back onto the bed and roll over.

I bang on the door again. “Don’t you fall back asleep, ya hear? You’ve got ten minutes to get your butt downstairs and start making breakfast, Audrey. Got it?”

“Okay, I’m coming.” She sighs. For just a slight second, I feel pity for my mother. She had to go through this routine with six kids. When we went through our teen years, it wasn’t easy on my poor mom. She was always trying to corral us together and get us to do our chores.

I should call her sometime.

The fleeting thought disappears almost as quickly as it showed up. I don’t have much time for phone calls right now. And, if Audrey doesn’t get her sweet ass out of bed, I won’t have time to eat breakfast either.

Through the door I can hear that she’s finally getting out of bed. Satisfied, I march down the hall and head downstairs. The smell of fresh brewed coffee hits my nostrils as soon as I walk in the kitchen. Travis is over at the stove heating up a skillet.

“What the hell are you doin’?”

“Well, good morning to you too, sunshine,” he scoffs. “I think you can use a cup of joe. Why don’t you pour yourself some?”

“That’s Audrey’s job.” I cross my arms and narrow my gaze. “Why are you doing her work for her?”

“Oh, so now I can’t make coffee? What’s next? At the end of the day can I still brush my teeth? Or do I need to hand my toothbrush off to her and get her to do it?” He rolls his eyes at me.

“You own a toothbrush? Coulda fooled me,” I snort and grab an empty mug. Steam rolls up from my fresh coffee and twirls under my nose, pulling me from my foul mood as I take my first sip.

Before either of us can say another word, Audrey shuffles into the room. She looks rough. I mean, she’s obviously beautiful, but from her puffy eyes and stifled yawns, you’d think she snuck out and hit up a club after Travis and I went to bed.

“Good morning.” She stretches both her hands up over her head and her little sweater opens over her white tank top. It’s clear as day that she’s not wearing a bra underneath. The way her rosy nipples pebble under the fabric is hard to look away from.

“There’s some fresh coffee there, if you want one.” Travis nods to the pot and Audrey makes her way to my side.

I swing the cupboard door open and pull out a mug for her and she gives me a gentle smile.

“Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.” I clear my throat.

“Looks like you were ridden hard and put away wet.” Travis grins at her and she stops dead in her tracks. Her hands freeze mid-air and she tilts her head.

“Excuse me? What are you trying to say?” Her hands tremble a little and pink climbs up her neck and splashes over her cheeks.

“You know, like a horse? It’s an expression,” Travis starts explaining as she levels him with a glare. “About horses. Ridden hard? And put away wet? You never heard that one?”

Audrey doesn’t move. She just watches Travis and he begins to squirm. Normally I’d jump in and try to help him take his foot out of his mouth, but I’m enjoying seeing him dig the hole deeper.

“You know, because your hair is all crazy and you seem tired out. Like if you ride a horse hard and don’t brush ’em out after you let them cool down then…” He looks over at me, but I just take a long sip of my coffee to hide my grin.

“Uh, sure. Okay. I guess.” She pours herself a mug and moves toward the stove. “What can I get you guys for breakfast?”

“If you want to whip up some scrambled eggs, I’ve got the pan heated up for you.” Travis looks extremely grateful that the subject changed. “I’ll get on making some toast.”

“You don’t need to. I can do it.” Audrey opens the fridge and pulls out a carton of eggs.

“It’s all right, I don’t mind. Besides, we’re running a little late today, so we should try to get it done quickly.” From the way Travis is scurrying all over the kitchen, you’d think I was paying him to cook.

I stand on the sidelines while they work together to fix up some breakfast and pack us food for later. I was starting to doubt that it would ever happen, but somehow we finally make it to the dining room table and everyone has food on their plate.

“So, what should I do around here today?” Audrey is a lot more chipper now that she’s had coffee and Travis did most of her work for her.

“Oh, you don’t need to worry about anything for today. You should probably just get a lay of the land first,” Travis answers her between bites of his toast.

“Laundry,” I talk around the eggs in my mouth.

“What did you say?” Audrey’s brown eyes glint as she looks over at me.

“The beds need to be stripped and there’s some laundry in the baskets that need to be washed up. It’s supposed to be a beautiful day, so you can hang it out to dry. Once you’ve got all that done, remake the beds and get supper going. Got it?” I pop the last forkful of my breakfast into my mouth and wash it down with the last sip of coffee.

“Umm, yeah. For sure. That’s no problem at all.” She smiles, but I can see uncertainty dancing in her eyes.

“Glad to hear it. Travis, we’re already late. Let’s get going.” I jerk my head and stand up, clearing my plate from the table.

Travis sighs heavily, but he doesn’t argue. Good thing too, ’cause I’m itching for a fight right now. To run a ranch like this you need structure and routine and we’re running on empty on both. I try not to think about how Audrey has started this entire day off on the wrong foot. Maybe Travis is right, maybe I need to just give her a chance. Maybe she’ll surprise me.

But I doubt it.