by Becca Van
He shook Rick’s hand and then he started toward the door, but he paused in the doorway when their boss spoke.
“Keep me posted on what you find out and inform me immediately if anything else happens.”
“Will do.” Leo waved then followed his brothers out.
None of them spoke until they reached the parking lot.
“Do you think she’s shy?” Ivan asked.
Leo shrugged before unlocking the truck and getting into the driver’s seat. Perry got into the front passenger seat and Ivan got into the back.
“No,” Perry replied. “I don’t think she’s shy, but she’s not an extravert.”
“She’s so fucking hot. I’ve had a boner from the moment we walked in to visit Rick,” Ivan said.
“You’re not the only one,” Perry said and slanted Leo a glance.
“Do you think she’s the one?” Ivan asked.
“It’s a definite possibility,” Leo answered and started backing out of the parking space before driving out of the lot and heading toward the sheriff’s office.
“I think Joe and Guy are going to give her a hard time.” Perry shifted in his seat so he could see Ivan and Leo.
“We’ll just have to make sure that one of us is around her at all times,” Leo said as he changed lanes and then turned the corner.
“I don’t think she’ll like that very much.” Perry grinned.
“That’s just too fucking bad,” Ivan said as he leaned forward. “There is no way in hell those assholes are going to make her life hell.”
“She won’t take any shit from them. I think that little girl has a spine of steel, and you heard what Rick said. ‘She can cut a man down at the knees with her tongue.’” Leo glanced in the rearview mirror and saw that Ivan was grinning from ear to ear and looking as eager as a pup with a new ball. He was just as eager as Ivan was but they couldn’t go rushing in like a bull in a china shop. They were going to have to take things slow and let Gypsy get used to them being around before making a move on her.
“I can’t wait to head to work tomorrow.” Perry rubbed his hands together.
“So how do we go about this?” Ivan asked.
“First off, you two aren’t going to rush in and scare her off. We are going to take this slow. We need her to get used to and become comfortable with us before we make a move. We are going to remain professional and do as she says while keeping an eye on her, making sure she stays safe.”
“Shit. How long do you think that will take?” Ivan snapped out his question.
“How long’s a piece of string, Ivan?”
“Fuck. Okay, I get it. It takes as long as it takes.”
“Precisely.”
“Did you notice the muscles in her arms?” Perry asked.
“Oh yeah.” Leo groaned his answer.
“I did, too,” Ivan said. “Although she had definition, her muscles were still small, but I bet she’s a lot stronger and tougher than she looks.”
“How tall do you think she is?” Perry asked.
“Five two, maybe five three.” Leo pulled up outside the sheriff’s office and turned the truck off.
“She’s fucking gorgeous.” Ivan shifted in his seat. “I would love to see that beautiful hair spread out on pillow while I touch and lick her all over.”
“Fuck, Ivan. I’ll never get rid of this boner if you keep putting images like that in my head,” Perry snapped.
“Tell me you weren’t already imagining her naked and spread open.”
Perry grinned but didn’t reply as he got out of the truck and adjusted his hard cock before walking toward the back of the vehicle. Leo and Ivan followed and, after donning gloves, he and his brothers took the safety rail and harness into the sheriff’s office.
If it was the last thing he did, Leo was going to find out what was going on and who had it in for Rick Savage.
Chapter Three
It had felt good being back home, but after a nearly sleepless night, Gypsy was up and raring to go. She was going to prove to her father that she had what it took to work alongside him, and even though he’d told her he’d had someone watching over her, she still felt bad for leaving the way she had years ago and felt she needed to prove herself. Although she knew her father accepted her and knew she could do this job without blinking, she needed to establish herself with his work crew.
That was something that had her stomach churning and a knot of anxiety forming in her chest. Being attracted to three men was so out of the norm for her it made her feel agitated and a little ill, but she pushed those thoughts aside. She was a confident career woman in a man’s world and had learned to deal with the opposite sex while working alongside them and knew she could handle anything that was thrown her way. She’d learnt that if cajoling and joking didn’t work that a sharp tongue was just the thing. She just hoped it worked with her father’s men, too. But there was no help for her right now, not with her dad laid up with two broken legs and in traction.
That was another thing that was bugging her. Her dad had always been about safety when working onsite, or anywhere else for that matter. To imagine him falling off a roof made her heart skip a beat. He’d never let anyone get up on a roof without any of the safety scaffolding in place or them being hooked up to safety harnesses. She wondered if her dad had actually forgotten to clip himself up, but he was such a stickler about such things she couldn’t imagine him taking such risks. There had to be another reason for his accident.
She hoped to find out what had happened by the end of the day.
Gypsy stood up, took her cup and plate to the dishwasher, and after rinsing them put them in the machine. She hurried to her bedroom and adjoining bathroom and after putting her hair up into a braid and brushing her teeth she looked herself over. Was there a sparkle in her eyes, and were her cheeks pinker than normal?
Stop it, Gypsy. You’re imagining things. Get your ass into gear and head out. You need to be onsite to greet the men.
After one last look in the mirror she turned away. She was never one to primp in front of a mirror before and worry about what she looked like. She wore her normal work attire of three-quarter cargo pants, tank top, and safety work boots. She’d already put sunscreen on after her shower and always had a supply in her truck so she wouldn’t get burnt to a crisp in the hot Texas sun. Working outside under the heat of the sun could do a lot of damage to her skin, and she always made sure to cover up with sunscreen. She didn’t want to end up with skin cancer because of negligence.
She walked out of her bedroom, checked her pockets to make sure she had some cash as well as her license and cell phone, picked up her keys from the hall table, and headed to work.
* * * *
Gypsy was pleased to see she was the first to arrive on site. After unlocking the trailer her dad used as an office and checking for messages, she looked over the blueprints for the housing estate her father had been contracted to build and was pleased to find that he was ahead of schedule. She knew that if her dad and his employees finished this job ahead of time there would be a big bonus in it for him and his men. Her father was a generous boss and always paid more than the going rates for anyone who worked hard and efficiently, and he always made sure they got a share of any bonus if they finished up before the deadline.
When Gypsy heard trucks pulling up near where she’d parked she drew in a deep breath before releasing it slowly. As she rose to her feet she pushed her shoulders back and held her head high, hoping to portray a confident, professional manner.
She walked down the office steps and paused as she watched two men get out of a battered truck. They were average-looking men and had muscles from doing physical work, but when they caught sight of her as they walked toward her she didn’t like the leering expressions on their faces.
“Well look here, Guy, we got us a pretty little filly to play with.”
Gypsy knew that these two needed to be put in their places from the start or they would be trouble. Her father
had warned her about Joe and Guy Wrench and it seemed he had been right on the money.
“You can keep your comments to yourself. I’m Gypsy Savage and will be taking over until my father has recovered and back on his feet. I want you two working on the first house today. You can put the last outside wall up and then I want you to make sure all the joists are in place. The Gyprock will be put up later this afternoon and everything needs to be ready so we don’t slow the plasterers down and the drywall can be put in all the gaps.”
“What the hell do you know about construction?”
Gypsy knew that it was Guy who had asked that question but she wasn’t about to let on she knew who they were. She turned to face him with a blank expression and raised eyebrow. “And you are?”
“The name’s Guy Wrench, honey. Why don’t you just let us do our job without any interference from you? We know what we’re doing.”
The way he quirked his eyebrows at her in such a condescending supercilious way got her blood boiling. Gypsy stepped forward, glaring at him, and placed her hands on her hips. “I was practically born with a hammer in my hand, you patronizing asshole. I have worked in construction my whole life. I won’t have either of you questioning my orders. You will do as you’re told when I tell you. Do you understand?”
“I don’t take no orders from women,” Guy snarled at her while looking her body up and down.
Goose bumps formed on Gypsy’s skin, making it feel like it was crawling. She didn’t like the lecherous look in his eyes or the way he was looking at her. It was like he could see through her clothes and could see her naked body. She took another step forward and poked her finger into his chest to get his attention.
“My eyes up here. If you talk to me you will look me in the eye.” Gypsy waited but had to poke him in the chest again before his eyes traveled from her chest to meet her gaze. He looked at her with fury, but she was used to men thinking a woman’s place was in the home barefoot and pregnant. She wasn’t about to let him know how much his attitude angered her. “If you won’t take orders from me then you can leave right now. I’ll have your pay drawn up and a contract releasing you from my father’s employment in ten minutes.”
Guy’s face started turning red and the vein in the side of his head near his temple began to throb. He looked like he was about to pop. Gypsy wanted to step away from him but she held her ground. If it looked like she was backing away from him she could see this fucker walking all over her.
She kept eye contact even when she heard another two trucks pull up and more doors slamming.
“What’s going on?” Leo’s deep voice caused her to shiver, but this time in a good way.
“Guy, Joe, and I are just getting acquainted. Aren’t we, guys?” Gypsy’s gaze didn’t waiver from Guy’s, and she felt like doing a victory dance when he nodded before looking away, but she kept her expression stoic. The last thing she needed to do was make him angry again if he saw her gloating. He and his brother turned around and stormed off.
“What was that about?” Leo asked as he walked closer to her.
Gypsy looked beyond him and saw that Perry and Ivan were right behind him.
“Guy was testing me and he wasn’t too happy when I shot him down.”
“Good for you, darlin’,” Ivan said as he came to stand next to her.
She felt downright tiny standing next to his six foot plus bulky frame. She glanced to Perry and then to Leo. They were all a few or more inches over six foot and more than a head taller than she was. Looking up into their eyes was giving her a pain in the back of her neck.
“Excuse me, ma’am, we’re looking for Rick Savage. My brother and I are starting work for him today.”
“You must be Shayne and Mike Ringer?” Gypsy stepped forward and offered her hand.
“That would be us. I’m Shayne and he’s Mike.” He grinned as he stepped forward and shook her hand.
“Please to meet you both. I’m Gypsy Savage. You’ll be working for me while my father is recuperating from an accident.” Gypsy swept her hand toward the trailer. “If you gentlemen will follow me, we’ll get the paperwork settled so we can all get to work.”
“Yes ma’am. I hope your dad is all right?” Mike asked as he and Shayne followed her into the trailer. Gypsy couldn’t help but look back over her shoulder at the Chadwick brothers and when she did she caught them all scowling at the Ringer men.
“He will be.”
Gypsy handed over the paperwork and waited impatiently while the men filled in the necessary information. She didn’t like leaving Joe and Guy working alone and because she was so flustered around Leo, Perry, and Ivan, she had forgotten to tell them that she wanted at least one of them working with those two assholes to keep an eye on them. Her dad had them working on the house next to the one Joe and Guy had been working on but she didn’t trust the Wrench brothers to work alone and do a good job.
She stood up after filing the papers and hurried toward the door. “I want you two working on house number three. I want everything done to code and all safety must be adhered to. Is that understood?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Shayne said as he and Mike followed her out.
“Call me Gypsy. ‘Ma’am’ makes me feel old.”
“Sure, Gypsy.” Mike grinned at her and tipped his hat before he and his brother strolled away.
Gypsy rushed to her truck, retrieved her nail gun and a large pack of nails, and strapped on her tool belt and then she sped over to site house one. She didn’t immediately see Joe and Guy when she entered the building but when she walked around a half-constructed wall she saw they were both leaning against the wood frame smoking cigarettes. She glanced at her watch and then glared at them.
“It’s not break time for a few hours yet and it looks like you haven’t even started. Get your asses into gear or I’ll dock your pay.”
Both men glared at her but she ignored them and headed over to the ready-cut joists which needed to be nailed in between the beams for support. She grabbed a bundle of the cut timber in her arms and carried it over to the far wall and got to work, but she didn’t relax until she heard their nail guns being fired. She’d felt their eyes on her and wanted to turn around and give them a tongue lashing but figured she already given them enough grief that morning. She hoped now that she had asserted her dominance over them and let them know who was boss and that she wasn’t going to be pushed around that they could start with a clean slate and become good work mates, but she wasn’t going to hold her breath.
After finishing up with the joists in her section Gypsy decided to check the roof out. She wanted to make sure all the safety rails were safe and secure, because the roof tillers were due at any moment.
She walked back to the other room where she had seen the ladder against the framework where there was still no outside wall. Once she’d investigated the roof she planned to get that wall up.
Gypsy grabbed a safety harness hanging over the ladder and after pulling it on and buckling into it she climbed the ladder and stepped onto the roof. She walked around the whole perimeter and after pushing and shoving at the safety scaffolding and finding it secure she started to climb back down the ladder. She gripped the top tightly with her hands when it wobbled and looked down to see Guy holding onto the sides of it as he gave her a libidinous grin.
“You want to be careful there, honey. You wouldn’t want to fall.”
“Let go and back the fuck off,” Gypsy ordered through gritted teeth. She didn’t have to be a genius to figure out the bastard had tried to scare her and was threatening her. And she didn’t like the way he was looking at her as if she was naked. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could put up with his shit and didn’t know if she wanted to.
Guy raised his hands as if in surrender and then walked away from her. Gypsy decided then and there that she was going to talk to her father about sacking Guy and Joe. She felt a little sorry for Joe because he didn’t seem as bad as his asshole brother, but she didn’t want him
hanging around causing trouble if she let Guy go, but she would need to replace them if she ended up firing them and then she would have to advertise for someone to take their place and waste time going through a round of interviews. If they wanted to stay ahead of schedule she didn’t really want to do that. Maybe the new guys or the Chadwick brothers knew of more construction men wanting work. She would have to ask them later, depending on what her dad said.
When she got off the ladder and started for outside she looked over what Guy and Joe had done. She’d done way more work than they had and she’d done it properly. She eyed the wall they had been adding joists to and noticed that half of them were missing.
“Guy, Joe, could you come in here please?”
Joe appeared first and Guy sauntered in as if he had all the time in the world.
“What’s the problem, sugar?” Joe asked in a lazy drawl and smirked at her.
Gypsy decided then and there that they weren’t worth the effort or the trouble of keeping on. If he dad raked her over the coals for making a decision without consulting him first then she would just have to deal with it.
“I need to see you both in the office,” she said before walking away. She hoped they didn’t realize she was about to give them the boot, but she prayed that Guy wouldn’t blow a gasket when she sacked them.
By the time they entered the trailer she had the paperwork ready for them to sign as well as they cash necessary to pay them out.
“I want to thank you both for your time but I’m afraid I have to let you go.”
“What the fuck?” Guy sputtered as his face turned red.