Tracy

“You’re how much in debt for this thing?”

My parents were angry and defensive, but they were in a corner. A corner they’d put themselves in and of course they blamed me.

“The Perry Family expects the best. We had to. We’re the bride’s family. It’s expected.”

My mother was really great on appearances and no so great on reality. And my Dad? Well, he did what Mom said. We all did.

When I came home and told my Mom I was engaged to Ted Perry, she was more excited than I was.

“He’s going to be a governor someday! That’s what people say about him.” My Mom was just echoing what the rest of the town always said. Ted Perry was the son of a prominent family. Well, prominent in Southeast Texas anyway. Prominent and rich compared to us, I guess.

From the second I showed her the ring; she was off on a tear. She was telling Ted this and that about how the Plumbs and the Perrys were going to throw the wedding of the year.

But here the three of us were, Mom, Dad, and me, and my Mom’s mouth had been writing checks that my Dad’s bank wasn’t going to be able to cash.

“We’re talking around fifty-thousand dollars,” my Dad said. His face was long and looking more like a hound dog’s than a man’s. I loved him but my mother had mentally beaten him down and now, they were in trouble.

“What?”

“We’ve sold the house. That will go a long way.” My mother waived her hand at my Dad. I sat there in awe.

“How in the hell?”

“Don’t swear. Daddy and I have sold the house. We’re moving into a condo. That’s going to cover some of it. The immediate vendors can be paid so that the Perrys will never know.”

“Some of it? Look, I don’t need a big wedding. I’ve said that to you over and over.”

“Your father and I will NOT look stupid or poor or like we can’t provide.”

“But you can’t. The country club, the dress, and the – what was it?” I had forgotten all the things she’d already committed to and locked in for this wedding. It was still six months away!

“The fleet of classic cars and the releasing of those birds,” my Dad chimed in with just a few of the million things my mother had lined up for a wedding still months and months away.

“Yeah, that.”

I had tried to stop her. But of course, I really didn’t know the extent of the hole she had dug.

“We’ve got to be out of here in a few days,” my Dad told me and that was it. My home was going to be gone. There wasn’t even a place for me at the new condo. Maybe she thought I should go live with Ted? Well, I wasn’t about to have that conversation.

I left the house, and my parents, pretty much as they were when I’d entered. Dad was doing what Mom said and Mom was spinning her fantasy that I was the next Princess of Port Azreal. Even though there was no way to pay for all she’d dreamed up.

It was a mess.

And I couldn’t tell Ted. My mother would be mortified if I did that.

So instead I spilled my hard luck story to my boss, Harlow Hayes. I needed advice from someone who was grounded in reality, not dreams of the Governor’s mansion.

“Honey. Are you sure about Ted? If he loves you, he’ll understand. He’ll want to marry you at the local park wearing cut-offs and serving beer in a red solo cup.”

“Uh, that’s not quite Ted.”

Harlow was talking about the kind of wedding that’d suit the love of her life, Kade. A hot as sin biker who would do anything for her, go anywhere, and who would be fine marrying her or not whenever or wherever she said.

My situation with Ted was different. I wasn’t sure he’d marry me anytime or anyplace. The plan for our big day was a much more calculated plan.

My family’s financial predicament felt like a knot I had to untie, and I had to do it quickly. And I really couldn’t ask Ted for help. Maybe he would help but that’s not who I was. I was going to get this solved without begging for handouts from the Perry family. It wasn’t the way I wanted to start my marriage, in debt to my mother-in-law.

My parents had made promises about a big wedding. Ted’s parents and their fancy friends had based their social calendar on those promises. And the whole thing had been described and tied neatly in a bow in the local newspaper – on the society page for crying out loud!

I was royally screwed.

I had a nurse’s aid degree but I was working in a pet shelter. I loved Ruff Life and working with Harlow, but it wasn’t going to pay for much.

“Hey, remember Bella?” Harlow snapped me out of my own head for a moment.

“Yes, sweet bulldog. Your biker friends adopted him.”

“Yes, well, not so sweet biker friend these days.”

“What do you mean? Maddox was adorable with little Bella.”

“Yeah, he was. But lately his life hasn’t been that great. And, well, I bring him up because he’s hiring, or rather, his Dad is.”

“What?”

“I wondered if you knew anyone. Maybe one of your old classmates from your nurse’s aid days who’d be willing or able to handle this job?” Harlow handed me a print out of an email.

WANTED: Live-in housekeeper and health aid. A large estate in Port Azreal is in need of a live-in housekeeper and home health aide. The applicant will be required to do daily housekeeping and cook for two adults and support, nursing care. The ability to cook and adhere to nutritional guidelines a plus.

I read on, all the while thinking that the live-in aspect of this job would solve my immediate situation. But the rest? Housekeeping? I could certainly do that. I had my nurse’s aid training but so far hadn’t used it at all. I loved working at Ruff Life but it was really for pennies and it didn’t use my degree.

I’d spent the last year working at the animal shelter. I mostly cleaned up after the animals. Cleaning up after people seemed like a step up.

And then I read the pay range. It was five times what I was making at the non-profit.

I loved the animals, heck I loved Harlow, but I was desperate to do something to keep my parent’s financial fairy tale from collapsing in front of the Perry family and the entire town.

“Harlow, I do know someone.”

“Oh, great! I thought you might.”

“Me.”

“What? Wait no. I didn’t mean that. I want to keep you here.”

“This says it’s full time, and it’s great money. Plus, Maddox is … well, I met him, he’d be great to work for.” I thought back to the time I had handed Bella to the biker and admitted to myself that he was incredibly sexy. Not my type at all, bikers. But still, working for him wouldn’t be a hardship.

“He’s not the same Maddox.”

“What?”

“I don’t think you’d like him, or working for him.” Harlow had a look of concern. Sometimes I think she protects me like a kid sister. Or overprotects me.

“Will you be mad if I applied for this job?”

“Of course not, I want you to do what you want to do. But, well, I just want to warn you, Maddox has turned into kind of a beast. I mean, I love him and I get why. But he might be a terrible boss.”

“I think I can handle a biker and his adorable bulldog. I’ve got you as a role model.” Harlow handled Kade, one of the toughest bikers on the planet, with ease. Kade’s appearance at Ruff Life had made me realize bikers weren’t just what you saw on the surface.

For the first time since my parents revealed the pickle they’d put us all in, I was smiling. This was meant to be! I was going to solve two problems with one job. I’d have a place to live rent-free and I’d quadruple the income I was making.

I couldn’t wait to get started.

“Will you be a reference?” I asked Harlow because honestly, she was a friend, and the last thing I wanted was to ruin that.

“If it’s what you want? Of course.” She hugged me, and I held tight to the piece of paper with the job opening.

Live in housekeeper and home health aid may not be anyone’s dream job but I was desperate, and I knew I could help Maddox. I remembered his raw good looks, and the way he’d taken to Bella.

This was going to work out perfectly!