Hungry.Thirsty.Exhausted.Nobody would want me at a wedding.
And right then, my attention turns to the chocolate fountain.I’m dangerously close to walking right over there, bending at the waist, face up and mouth open so I can drown in a waterfall of chocolate.
Or, if I were really quick about it, I could just grab a plate of food and some water and disappear into the shadows.
It’s tempting.And I might be able to get away with it if I didn’t stick out like a dusty sore thumb in a sea of money and style.But I know the truth of who I am, and I know that I wear my truth for the world to see.
I’m bone tired, fresh out of options, and bent under the weight of all I’m carrying.
My stringy hair is covered in road dust and smells like diesel exhaust.I’m in dirt-caked shoes.The jeans and jacket I wear are just as second-hand as the frayed duffel bag I’m lugging around.
I think back to the email I received a couple of days ago.I’ve read it so many times that I’ve memorized it.But did I get it wrong?Did I misread the job offer?Maybe the email really said Ididn’tget the job.
“We can’t wait to meet you.You can start this weekend.Please arrive Saturday afternoon and talk to Finn MacLaine.The MacLaine family owns the ranch.You’ll be living in his house with his eight-year-old daughter, Jasmine.”
That’s what the email said.I don’t think I got it wrong.I’ve read it a hundred times.
I really did get an email that offered me a job as a live-in housekeeper.I really am supposed to be starting this weekend.
And I really can’t wait to start.This job is saving my life.
I’ll be out here in the country, away from all of Reno’s low-life rejects.I’ll have the pleasure of waiting on two people every day instead of a hundred.I actually like housecleaning.I like physical work.I enjoy cooking.And I’m really good at it.
Though it’s getting dark now, I saw enough of Yosemite Ranch and the surrounding valley on my hike down.It is beautiful here.
I may have just lucked out.
So I’ll find Finn MacLaine and tell him I’m here.Maybe he’ll be okay with me getting some rest and something to eat and drink before I get to work.
I scan the party guests again, wondering who is who.I have no way of knowing, but one thing that’s plenty obvious is that there are a whole bunch of very big, very tall men all at the same place at the same time.All wearing the same kind of suit.
They tower over all the guests.One is an older guy with a thick head of salt-and-pepper hair.He might be the father of the groom.Then there’s the groom himself, with jet-black hair, and four other men with many of the same features.
I bet those are the MacLaines, and one of them is bound to be Finn.But which one?The groom is probably out, since who would ask their new housekeeper to show up for orientation during their wedding reception?
Of the other four, three have that same raven-black hair, and one is a blond.Two of the dark-haired brothers are at the bar ordering drinks and laughing.The blond is the biggest behemoth of them all, and he’s hanging back from the festivities with his arms crossed over his chest, looking more like a bodyguard than a groomsman.
The other one is sitting at a table with a pretty young woman in a fancy dress.
I’m too nervous to make the rounds, asking for Finn MacLaine.These men are huge and intimidating.I’m just over five-two and on the petite side.They’re filthy rich, and I’m just plain filthy and broke.They’re pure class.I’m just trash.
At least that’s what I’ve always been told.My whole life.
My stomach growls again.And I know that if I don’t take a seat and get something in my belly, I’m going to pass out right here, halfway in and halfway out of the party tent.
And then people will scream.Dancing will stop.Someone will call an ambulance.
No embarrassment there, right?
Sigh.
I gnaw on the inside of my cheek, summoning my courage.
Scanning the crowd one more time, my gaze locks onto that pretty young woman in the fancy dress.She glares at me.I shrink back a step, but she shakes her head at me, which freezes me into place.
She gets up and stomps over to me.I note she’s wearing worn cowboy boots under her shimmering dress.She’s holding a plate of food, and every couple steps, she opens her mouth and sticks something else in it.
When she reaches me, she’s chewing, and when she speaks, her mouth is full.I like her immediately.
