by Loni Ree
Roping Ms. Impossible
Copyright © 2020 by Loni Ree
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
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Roping Ms. Impossible
Blurb
Bryce Mackenzie
When my sister-in-law talked me into hiring someone to help out around the house, I had no idea it would lead to my soulmate walking into my life and turning everything upside down. It doesn’t take long for me to realize Natalie has very little cooking experience, but her lack of cooking ability doesn’t matter to me. She’s already stolen my heart.
Natalie Holmes
I’ve always been the impulsive twin. That’s an understatement. When the chance to stay on a real ranch in the middle of Wyoming rent-free for the summer comes up, I figure--why not? How hard could it possibly be to help out in the kitchen? Fudging my resume and lying in the interview comes back to bite me in the rear on my first day. The hardest part is fighting my feelings for my new boss, Bryce Mackenzie.
Once Bryce figures out the sensation in his chest isn’t indigestion from Natalie’s cooking, he knows there’s no fighting his feelings. Now, Bryce is making plans to rope Ms. Impossible so he can keep her for life.
Contents
Chapter 1
Bryce
Chapter 2
Bryce
Chapter 3
Natalie
Chapter 4
Bryce
Chapter 5
Bryce
Chapter 6
Bryce
Chapter 7
Natalie
Chapter 8
Bryce
Chapter 9
Bryce
Chapter 10
Natalie
Chapter 11
Natalie
Chapter 12
Natalie
Chapter 13
Bryce
Epilogue 1
About the Author
Also by Loni Ree
Also by M. Marie Clark
Chapter One
Bryce
My wet hand finds empty space when I reach for a towel, and it hits me—I never put the laundry into the dryer. Fuck. After a shitshow of a day yesterday, I came home, showered, and went to grab sweatpants. To my horror, I realized every bit of laundry in the house was dirty. My naked ass threw towels, clothes, underwear, and everything else I could find in the washer and added soap. The only problem? Exhaustion caught up with me, and I passed the fuck out without putting the laundry in the dryer.
Living alone in the big ranch house has its advantages. No one can hear my profanity-filled tirade as I stomp wet and naked through the house. Harden and Mitchell will have to deal with my tardiness this morning. I grab my cellphone and dial Harden’s number. The fucker is way too cheery for this early in the morning.
“Morning.”
“No. Today fucking sucks. I’ll be late.”
I’m about to hang up when the asshole catches me. “Aww, did the poor baby have a hard time sleeping in the big house all by himself?” His kissing sounds on the phone nearly cause me to explode. I promise myself to beat the little fucker real soon. He may be two years older, but I have at least thirty pounds of muscle on the asshole.
“Look. I’m standing in my kitchen naked, so if you don’t want to deal with my cock hanging out, you’ll wait for my clothes to dry.” Then I hang up to the sound of his laughter.
An hour later, I pull up at the ranch office wearing jeans that are seventy-five percent dry. Mitchell, my oldest brother, is sitting on the sofa in Harden’s office when I attempt to walk by unnoticed.
“Get in here,” he demands, and I groan in the back of my throat. Another fucking wonderful day on the Sweet Stone Ranch.
“Don’t even fucking start with me.” I glare at the two fuckers as they try to hold back their laughter.
Mitchell raises an eyebrow as he looks at my wrinkled shirt and soggy jeans. “You stubborn asshole.” Harden snorts, and Mitchell turns to glare at him before taking a deep breath.
“I know you’re trying to prove you can live in the ranch house without help, but give the fuck up and admit you need to hire a housekeeper. This can’t continue.”
Sighing, I drop down onto the leather sofa and run a hand down my face. Mitchell conveniently forgets that he’s the cause of my suffering. Mitchell and Libby lived in the big ranch house with their children for years. All the family members and some ranch hands had meals there regularly. Since I’m the only single brother left, Libby and the housekeeper, Hillary, took care of all my needs. They let me bring my laundry over from my small house on the ranch. Then bam, out of the blue, one Sunday at breakfast, Mitchell and Libby stunned everyone with the announcement they were moving into a small cabin on the ranch since their kids had grown up and left the nest. Hillary also revealed she was retiring to Florida to live with her sister.
Everyone began to question what would happen to the ranch house. It’s been in our family for generations. My older brother’s wife, Megan, owns the local bakery, and she and Harden own a large house close to town. Devin, my younger brother, is a coach at the local high school. His wife, Tricia, is Megan’s best friend and business partner. They own a home in the same area as Harden and Megan. Sebastian and Justin, my younger twin brothers, both found women out of state and moved away. Sebastian is a high school principal in Bay Isle, Florida, where he met his wife, Sadie. Justin, a computer geek, somehow convinced model Brianne Bisset to give him a chance. That still shocks the family. They live in Harren, Ohio, where Justin works as head of cybersecurity for a large engineering firm.
My family narrowed the possibilities down to me. Before I could stop them, the whole family decided I should move into the big house. That brings us to today. The day I’m sitting on Harden’s leather sofa in soggy jeans and a wrinkled shirt. “You fucker, I’m suffering because of you.”
Mitchell punches his fist into the leather. “It’s not my fault that a thirty-eight-year-old man still acts like an eighteen-year-old. Grow the fuck up. Stop pouting and either hire a housekeeper or find a wife.”
My growl fills the large office before I thunder from the room.
Chapter Two
Bryce
Later in the day, I’m sitting at my desk when there’s a light knock on my office door. I look up to find Libby, Mitchell’s wife, standing there. As she holds up one hand, I see she’s grasping a paper bag in her other one. “I come with a peace offering.” Libby lifts the bag and winks. “I figured you’d need some lunch.”
Sighing, I close my eyes and beg. “Please tell me it isn’t peanut butter and jelly.”
“Now, would I do that to my favorite brother in law?” I open my mouth, ready to argue, but Libby laughs. “Seriously, it’s your favorite—roast beef and cheddar.” She sets the bag in front of me, then drops down in the chair across from my desk. “I need to talk to you about something. I have a suggestion to make your life much easier.”
Doubt runs through me, but I’m not going
to argue with my mouth full of roast beef, so I shrug and let Libby tell me her idea. “Megan and I discussed this.” I roll my eyes and continue devouring the food. “We think you need to hire someone for the summer.”
“Wait a minute.” Libby recoils when tiny bits of partially chewed sandwich splatter onto the surface of my shiny oak desk. After taking a few seconds to finish chewing, I swallow the bite and try again. “Surely, you remember the horrible search for a housekeep incident of 202…”
Libby holds up her hand and interrupts me. “We all remember that fiasco, and there’s no way we’ll let that happen again.” She shudders. “How could we ever imagine every single woman between the age of eighteen and eighty would lose their mind over you. I mean, come on, using a housekeeping job to catch a man? How cliché.”
As I’m trying to decide if my sister-in-law just insulted me to my face, Libby smiles. “You’re a great catch, but a woman should have some self-respect and let the man do the chasing. Now, getting back to our idea.” She points at my half-eaten lunch. “Eat, and I’ll talk.” I’m not sure I can stomach much more of this conversation, but none of us Mackenzie men argue with Libby. “Okay. We decided to look for a summer intern at the colleges to work in the house to give us a few months to find someone permanent.”
I have a hard time swallowing past the rock in my throat. “Uh. I’m a thirty-eight-year-old man. Don’t you think me having some young college girl in the house with me will go over like a fart in church with the crabby old know-it-alls in Sweetbriar?”
“She won’t be living in the house with you. The big red barn has that nice garage apartment that no one ever uses. We’ll make sure all the ranch hands and everyone pass around the information that Celine is living there and helping out in both your house and our house. She’s going to be our shared housekeeper and cook.” Libby sits back and smiles brightly.
“Celine?” I rub the back of my neck as I feel a headache beginning to pound.
“Megan went to high school with her older sister. Celine is a little older. She’s taking the longer route through college, but Megan swears we’ll love her.”
Rolling my eyes, I laugh. “You mean the six-year plan?”
My sister-in-law stands and glares at me. “I mean, she hasn’t decided what she wants to do yet, and you benefit. She’s old enough to know how to take care of your house and cook a few meals, and young enough to want a little excitement out of life. The idea of spending the summer on a real ranch is appealing to someone her age.”
Doubts assail me, but I know there’s no changing Libby’s mind at this point. From the sound of things, she’s already made arrangements. “When is our new housekeeper arriving?” I concede defeat.
“Megan and I are picking her up at the airport on Saturday. We’ll help her get settled in, and she’ll have Sunday to look around and meet everyone. Then Monday morning, Celine will cook you breakfast bright and early. We can set up a schedule to share her housekeeping. I already promised her weekends off, so you’ll have to figure something out those two days of the week.” Mitchell and Harden walk up and stand at the door as Libby is speaking. From the looks of doubt on their faces, I can tell Libby has already run this idea by them. “I’m already posting ads for a permanent housekeeper. This time, I’m not giving too much detail.” She turns and glares at Mitchell when he snorts. “There won’t be a repeat of the whole single woman stampede.”
Harden shakes his head and silently walks away. We all know there’s a high probability this scheme of theirs is going to end badly, but no one is brave enough to attempt to stop them.
Later that evening, I’m eating peanut butter and jelly for the millionth time since Hillary retired and think to myself that maybe Libby and Megan’s idea might work. As I look around my kitchen and see the layer of dust building up on the surfaces, guilt runs through me. This house has never looked this unkept and messy, but working fifty to sixty hours a week, plus traveling, leaves me very little time to clean house, cook meals, and do my own laundry. Damn. I might sound like some damn television commercial. Fuck. I really do need help.
Chapter Three
Natalie
Out of the corner of my eye, I see the monitor flash with my flight time and try to swallow the guilt eating away at me. I keep reminding myself it’s just a tiny white lie that won’t hurt anyone. My cooking skills have improved greatly over the past couple of weeks since I’ve been practicing. It was pure luck that I answered the phone when Megan Mackenzie called looking for Celine. Curiosity got the best of me, and I pretended to be my twin sister. I knew Ms. Stick-in-the-mud would never even consider this opportunity, so I jumped at the chance to spend the entire summer, rent-free, on a ranch in Colorado. All I have to do is cook and clean a little. How hard can it be? I’m a very clean person—
our apartment is always tidy. Celine agreed my cooking has come a long way in the last two weeks. She has no idea this opportunity was meant for her or that it’s the reason I’ve suddenly developed a desire for cooking. I gave my overprotective twin the bare minimum information about my summer adventure. Luckily, she’s too caught up in her new relationship with her hot attorney boyfriend to really think about what’s going on in my life.
Hoping to make life a little easier on myself, I tucked several cookbooks written for the inexperienced cook into my luggage, along with several boxes of hamburger helper. My best friend, Jade, assures me no man can resist a little cheeseburger macaroni.
I have another little surprise tucked in my bag. Nacho, my tiny, long-haired Chihuahua, is tucked safely in a tiny carry-on purse. I sort of forgot to tell my new employers about my little guy, but surely, they’ll let me have my pet. Everyone falls in love with him at first sight.
Now, I need to combat these nerves before I board the plane to Denver. Taking a deep breath, I tell myself everything will work out perfectly. I’ll get to Sweetbriar, Colorado, and have an exciting summer, then return home and decide what I’m doing with the rest of my life. I recently made the painful discovery that I’m not cut out for home dye jobs or my chosen career, and I’m not sure which hurt me more. At least, when my hair accidentally turned neon blue during a home dye job, I talked Celine into secretly taking my place at the law office where I was interning. That day, she met and made quite an impression on the head lawyer. Now, they’re dating and in love. Also, my hair is back to dark brown, but I’m out of a career. The whole incident caused me to examine my life, and I realized I didn’t want to be a paralegal, or a teacher, or an accountant, or a nurse. I’ve had a few majors, yet none have worked out. I’m hoping to use my time in Colorado to decide what I really want out of life. Hopefully, I’ll make up my mind in Sweetbriar.
After the flight from hell—I think the pilot might have gotten his license at the “B” school, I need a few minutes for my stomach to climb down from my throat before making my way to the luggage carousels. I’m waiting for my beat-up suitcases to appear and bite my lip, trying to ignore the apprehension running through my body. My sweaty palms are slightly trembling, and I run them down my jeans to wipe off the moisture. After grabbing my bags, I take a deep breath and tell myself to pull up my big girl pants and get a move on. My new start in life is waiting.
I walk out the heavy glass doors and hear, “Celine.” Groaning to myself, I paste a smile across my face and turn to see Megan.
“Hi, Megan.” I pull my luggage toward Megan and the stunning woman standing next to her. When I get close, Megan runs over and grabs me for a hug. She pulls back and frowns slightly. “Uh, Celine?”
“Thank you so much for this opportunity.” I give my best Celine smile and pray it fools my sister’s friend.
Megan has been friends with our older sister, Amelia, for years. She’s known Celine and me since we were in grade school. Amelia and Megan babysat us many times and were always able to tell us apart.
“Celine, this is my sister-in-law, Libby. She’ll be your boss while you’re in Sweetbriar.”
; The other woman smiles before also hugging me. “It’s so nice to meet you.” She grabs my hand and points at a huge SUV. “Let’s get your stuff loaded in the car and head home.”
Megan gives me a slight smile, then grabs my smaller makeup case. “I’ll grab this for you.”
Megan insists that I sit up front with Libby before climbing into the backseat. Once we’re on our way to Sweetbriar, Libby explains the job to me. As she tells me more, my concern increases. Her brother-in-law doesn’t sound like a typical cowboy who’s going to be satisfied with Hamburger Helper. I might have bitten off a little too much with this stunt. Luckily, I’ll have a few days to settle in before I meet Bryce Mackenzie. He had to leave unexpectedly on a business trip a few days ago and isn’t expected home until sometime midweek. I plan to use those extra days to sharpen my cooking skills.
We stop at a gas station along the way, and Libby runs in to use the restroom. Megan taps me on the shoulder, and I bite my lip before turning to her. It’s obvious from the knowing look in her eye that she knows my secret. “Please tell me you’ve learned to cook since I saw you a few years ago.”
“Uh. Yeah. I’ve been practicing.” I smile, and she groans.
“How long have you been practicing?” Megan raises an eyebrow, and I shrug.
Before I can answer, Libby opens the door and climbs back into the SUV. She looks between us and frowns. “Is something wrong?”
There’s no way I’ll let Megan get in trouble for my lie, so I decide now’s the time to fess up to Libby. “Megan just realized I told a little fib.”
