Maid to Fit

by Rebecca Avery

  They talked and laughed the entire time, periodically asking both her and Addie questions, including ones about Kayla’s mother. Somehow talking about her family, especially her mother’s life and death, made the pain a little more bearable. Kayla actually enjoyed the day and was surprised when Ronnie and his military buddies showed up with several pizzas and some beer.

  The rest of Ronnie’s family, including his other two sisters, came for pizza as well a few minutes later. They were a fun bunch of people, and Kayla occasionally felt tears burn behind her eyes because her mother never got the chance to meet them.

  Kayla had worried that Addie would have a miserable Christmas, but watching her laughing with Carrie and Ronnie’s dad, she knew that would not be the case. Soon enough, Carol rounded up the group to leave, promising to be back early Christmas morning to finish up the rest of the cooking.

  Addie invited Kaitlyn over to spend the night and the girls spent most of the evening in the basement while Kayla and Ronnie sat in the living room. Conversation was light and fun between them, but soon enough she straddled his lap and kissed him. The passionate kiss they shared turned to touching and they ended up sneaking up the stairs.

  Later, when they came back downstairs, he pulled her into his arms and said, “I should go.”

  She didn’t want him to go…ever. Telling him she loved him had unleashed a torrent of emotions, but where did they go from there?

  The weeks when Ronnie had been around on a daily basis had been wonderful. Ronnie spending the night was like a decadent dessert after a five-star meal. He belonged in her life. He hadn’t run in fear of Addie. He’d stayed, and now Kayla didn’t want him to ever leave again.

  She should just say what was in her heart…no more secrets.

  “I don’t want you to go,” she whispered. “I want you in my arms every night. I want you to move in with me. Don’t let Sergeant Buck be the man of this house. You outrank him in more ways than one.”

  The look on his face was one she hadn’t seen before, but she didn’t have time to ask him about it before he was kissing her. “Let’s get through the holidays with my crazy-ass family, and if you’re still speaking to me afterward, we’ll figure it out together,” he said when he finally released her mouth.

  * * *

  Christmas morning dawned bright and early, bringing Carol, Elaine and Carrie. After running Kaitlyn home, Kayla worked and laughed alongside them as they finished the rest of the meal preparations. Addie came downstairs just as the rest of the group showed up, including Ronnie’s friends Seth, Ian and Rusty. Elaine’s husband, Jack, and Ronnie unloaded a mountain of gifts from the back of Carol’s van. Seeing their presents, Kayla headed upstairs to pull out the things she’d picked up over the past couple of days and brought them downstairs.

  Descending the stairs and seeing the Christmas tree all lit up with gifts underneath and seeing all the happy faces, she felt the holidays were like they used to feel, before her mother had gotten sick. Kayla could not shake the sense that wherever her mother was, she was also remembering the past and smiling. This felt good—like what her mother would have wanted for her and Addie.

  The guys set up her dining room table to seat as many people as possible. After also setting places around the breakfast table, they figured out they were still a couple of seats short. She watched Ronnie, Ian, Seth and Rusty slip out to the garage, and a few minutes later they came back in carrying her mother’s chairs and table, which Ronnie must have finished staining. Jack and the two young boys moved the breakfast table down to make room. It was crowded, but it worked.

  Once the table was situated she went to Ronnie and hugged him. “Thank you for my mother’s table. It’s beautiful.”

  Dinner was loud, crazy and fun. Carol ran the family like a teacher at the front of the class, and it was clear that Addie was well on her way to adoring Ronnie’s youngest sister just as much as she adored Ronnie. When the meal was finished, the guys all worked to put the food away since the women had cooked it, and then they carried chairs into the living room.

  Once everyone was situated they began exchanging gifts. Kayla was proud of the way Addie graciously accepted gifts from these strangers who, over the past few days, had become like family to them both. Addie got Ronnie a giant megaphone with the school’s mascot on it, which earned her a high five from Seth. Ronnie got Addie a gift card to a trendy shop at the mall, which was a bigger hit than Kayla’s gift of clothes.

  Ronnie opened his gift from her, which was a seat cover for his truck and a gift certificate to an outdoor sports specialty store. Then Ronnie pulled out a large box, placed it on the floor near Kayla’s feet and sat down next to her on the couch.

  “Do you remember when I took the team up to practice at the nursing home and I told you that Mary had asked me to bring Addie for a visit?” he asked.

  “Yes,” she replied curiously.

  “Well, that’s not all she asked of me that day. She said that when you finally decided to give me a chance that I should jump on it—’storm the beach and don’t quit until she’s yours’ were her words. I hope she gave me good advice,” he said, picking up the box from the floor, handing it to her and kneeling down in front of her.

  The whole room quieted while she unwrapped the large box. Nestled on top of some white felt fabric that had been sprinkled with glitter to look like snow sat a smaller box with the name of a well-known local jewelry store etched on it. He lifted out the smaller box, set the larger one aside and then opened the little one to show a diamond ring.

  “I should have asked Mary for permission when I had the chance, but I asked Addie instead, and she granted it, so…will you marry me?” he asked.

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. “Yes, Ronnie. Oh, yes! I love you.”

  The room erupted in noise once again with cheering and commotion until Jack handed both her and Ronnie a glass of wine. Ronnie kissed her and then touched his glass to hers before taking a drink.

  She truly did love this man and would do anything for him—her soldier, her lover, her friend.

  Epilogue

  Addie was every bit as nervous as Kaitlyn, and even holding hands didn’t seem to be helping. Looking out at the crowd, she could see her mom and Ronnie along with most of Ronnie’s family and his army friends sitting center aisle just a few rows from the bottom. Her mother looked both excited and nervous, but Ronnie, as usual, looked calm and in control.

  He could be a nervous wreck for all she knew, but one could never tell based on his ever-present serious expression. A person also would never know by looking at him that he was responsible for getting them to this state competition.

  The announcer informed the spectators and the few media groups present that only those teams placing either first, second or third would be announced. She could feel Chase’s hands on her shoulders and appreciated his support. He must have been just as nervous, since he was a part of this team, too.

  The crowd quieted just as her teammates huddled together, waiting. Ronnie had coached them to perfection, so they stood as good a chance as any other team…even those who made it this far every year.

  She heard the announcement, but knew it was real as she watched her mother and Ronnie’s family all shoot to their feet cheering. They had placed! It might only be third prize but their team was in the top-three schools statewide! Addie could feel and hear her friends and teammates jumping and cheering around her, but her eyes were drawn to Ronnie. He sat smiling with that all-knowing look of his that normally drove her nuts.

  Poor Sergeant Buck sat between Ronnie’s feet staring at them with that ridiculous muzzle on. It was the only way Ronnie had been able to convince the organizers of this event to let the dog come. Many letters from parents and school faculty and the muzzle had made that happen for the old dog. Sergeant Buck was a coach just as much as Ronnie was. He’d been there from the start and he deserved to be there now.

  Making every effort to contain their exci
tement, the team listened for the two other winning teams to be announced. Afterward, they waited as a group for pictures and were surprised when a man approached and identified himself as a newscaster for a television station in their hometown. The man asked if he could do an interview with the team for the evening news. The rest of the team shoved her and Kaitlyn forward to be the spokespeople for the group.

  The man said, “I understand you have an unusual coach. Can you tell me about him?”

  Her answer should have been that every school district needed a Ronnie and that he was perfect for her mom and that she couldn’t wait for their wedding this coming spring. Ronnie would make her jog for miles, though, if she said a word about him or mentioned his name, so squaring her shoulders she instead said, “Sergeant Buck brought his experience in the army and used it to train us in how to be a team. For that we salute you, Sergeant Buck!”

  They all lined up facing the dog, and the cameraman moved back to get both the team and the muzzled dog in the shot. The team saluted the dog, who stood looking at them as he had for every practice over the past few months. Then, as she knew he would, the dog sat down and she and her teammates relaxed.

  Sergeant Buck was officially an honorary coach. Addie had always wanted a dog, and she couldn’t have asked for a better one than Buck. He’d helped her reach her cheerleading goals and, more important, brought Ronnie into their lives. Seeing Ronnie and her mom so happy together made her realize just how perfectly things had worked out.

  Now they were a family made to fit.

  Rebecca M. Avery is a software support professional by day and a romance author by night. She is a pint-size mother of two and wife to the greatest man on earth. Born in the South, she now lives in a three-stoplight town in the Midwest surrounded by cornfields and a vindictive bullfrog. A lifelong member of multiple procrastinator clubs and organizations, she has somehow published several ebook romance novels and successfully turned a hobby she’s passionate about into a dream come true. Having experienced the best that life has to offer in industries spanning from cosmetology to retail management to computer networking, she brings a unique and refreshing spin on daily life. Visit her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Rebecca-M-Avery/216646888472106 for further proof.

  Upcoming books in the Man Maid series:

  Maid to Crave

  Maid to Love

  Maid to Order

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  eISBN: 9781460330746

  MAID TO FIT

  Copyright © 2014 by Paula Eby

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