Cowgirls and Alphas

Chapter 4

Lottie POV

“Mr. Reynolds, what happens if you take care of the wolves quicker than a month? Do you still charge for the whole month or only for the time your employees are working?” I can’t help but ask. I have been picking Malcolm Reynolds’s brain for the past twenty minutes. I’m so curious about how this is going to work. I hope that wasn’t too rude of a question to ask. Maybe I should write down the ones that pop up in my mind and give them to my dad so he can ask them for me. No. I need to stand on my own two feet and learn these things for myself.

“That’s an excellent question, Miss. Wright. I only charge for how long my people are working. I say a month because, on average, it takes us one to two weeks to neutralize the threat. We then stay an extra week or two after to confirm there is no longer a problem.” Mr. Reynolds replies.

I nod my head, “That makes sense. Now, how much interaction will there be with your employees? Do we show them the area of concern? Do we just sit back and never see them? Do we house and feed them?”

My dad laughs, “My daughter is a curious one, Mr. Reynolds. These questions are going to keep coming. I can answer them to the best of my ability so you can get back to your day.” I shoot him a glare. I’m sure he asked these same questions when he first hired Mr. Reynolds’s help so he would have the answers, but interrupting me like that is embarrassing. Mr. Reynolds laughed with my dad. Great. Now he thinks I’m an overeager child instead of an adult who has legitimate questions.

“Mr. Wright, I assure you that Miss Wright’s questions have merit. She has impressed me with how thought out she has been. I tell you what, Miss Wright. Since I do have another meeting I need to prepare for, why don’t you send me an email with your questions and concerns? I’ll be sure to answer you by the end of the day.”

I’m caught off guard by his response. I thought Mr. Reynolds would brush me off. “Yes, sir. I’d appreciate that. Thank you,” I say with a confident tone.

“Thank you for the conversation, Miss Wright. Mr. Wright, I’ll have an email sent to you of the contract that I’ll need you to sign before the day is over. Thank you both. We’ll talk soon.” My dad confirms with him and ends the phone call.

“Dad, that was embarrassing how you brushed me off like that. I wasn’t asking anything that you wouldn’t have, right?”

My dad sighs, “I just see my curious little girl who never stops questioning what’s going on around her. I’m so used to having to reign you in around others.”

“But I’m not a kid anymore. I was in here because you said I could be a part of the conversation. Right? How am I going to learn anything if you ‘reign me in’ all the time?” I respond, a little annoyed.

My dad studies me for a minute before replying, “It’ll take me time to adjust, but I’ll try to be better about that. That said, you also have a lot to learn, Lottie. You may be an official adult now, but there are all sorts of things you still have yet to experience.”

“Thank you, Dad. I know that I do. I also know that you’ll be there to help me.” I say with a reassuring smile.

“That’s right, Little Lottie,” he smiles back. “Now, I’m going to tell your mom about our three guests. They’ll be here tonight, so I’m sure she’ll be a nervous wreck getting everything ready for them. After you’re done with your email to Mr. Reynolds come and help us.”

I give him a small salute before he leaves the office, “Yes, sir!” I sit in front of the computer and get to work. I didn’t have many questions left, but I got them all typed out and sent off. At 12:20 pm, I grab a light lunch from the kitchen. When I finish, I head to the living room, where I find my mom frantically vacuuming the area rug.

“Mama, if you keep going there won’t be a rug left!” I tease her.

She turns to me with a distraught look in her eye. “You hush now and go get the guest room ready.” Mom looks towards the ceiling and says, “Why oh why did I let the kids go to their friends’ houses today?! I need my cleaning crew!”

I go to her and hug her. “It’ll be fine, Mama. If anything, this is better. You can focus on cleaning instead of stopping every five minutes to prod everyone along.”

She lets out an exasperated laugh while clinging to our embrace, “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” She steps back and takes a breath. “Thank you, Lottie. Your hugs always help.”

“Anytime, Mama.” I smile at her and head upstairs. Our third floor has two rooms. One is a full-sized bathroom, and the other is simply a giant spare room. It’s dubbed as the kid hangout when we don’t have guests over. I start cleaning the bathroom first because I have a sneaking suspicion that my younger two siblings left the guest room in disarray. Sure enough, there are toys and movies strung all around the room. I pause to give myself a little pep talk, ‘Okay, Lottie. You can do this, and get it all done before they get here.’

••••

I have finally gotten the tornado-like mess taken care of and started setting up the Murphy bunk beds that are in the guest room walls when I look at the time. 4:30 pm. Holy cow! Where did the time go? Dad said they would be here between 5-5:30 pm. Crap. Mom was right; my siblings would’ve been a lot of help with this. If I hurry, I can get showered and cleaned up before they arrive, so I won’t be a sweaty mess the first time we meet.

Aside from needing to look nice for a business-type meeting, I tend to care a little too much about what other people think when they first see me. I’m a tiny person, so others are quick to assume that I’m younger than I am. It’s rather frustrating, especially when my younger sister, Ava, is thought to be older than me. Adults always say to “be grateful” because when I’m older I’ll still look much younger than I am. They’re probably right, but I still have a bit of a rough time with it. I don’t dress inappropriately or have a cake face. I do no more than try to look put-together like an actual adult.

Once I’m done making the beds, I rush to my room to gather my clothes before I hop through the shower. I get cleaned up, and my bundle of nerves grows like wildfire. The anxiety I have over this silly meeting is throwing me for a loop, so I turn my water cold to snap me back to reality and finish rinsing myself off. Wrapping my hair and body in their respective towels, I realize I don’t have time for a full makeup look. I opt for some mascara on my eyelashes and a little bit of pink-tinted lip balm across my lips instead. I make sure to put on some deodorant before I finish getting dressed, then tie my damp hair into a side French braid.

5:15 pm. I’m betting that they’re already here so I need to hurry but I take one last look in the mirror. ‘Breathe. You look great! Everything is going to be okay,’ I tell myself and take a final deep breath. Walking out of the bathroom, I hear dad talking outside. I race down the stairs and as I approach the door, I hear everyone walking up the front porch stairs. Well, that works. I can let them in then. I open the door and see my parents first followed by three men who were about the same size as my dad, if not a little bigger. They all filed inside except the last man, who stood frozen at the door. I look up to see if everything was all right since I need to close the door. As soon as my eyes meet the figure, I freeze where I am too.

A mountain of a man stands unwavering in front of me. I do my best to subtly check out his husky lumberjack frame and conclude that he has to be at least 6’ 6”. His sandy blonde hair is faded into a short crew cut. His full yet short blonde beard and mustache frame his strong face perfectly. His medium suntanned skin gives a striking contrast to his features. Is this guy a lost Hemsworth brother? I mean, come on! Only celebrities look this handsome, right? Finally, I am captured by a pair of piercing sky blue eyes. For a moment, I can see his eyes change from sky blue to deep black. Interesting... My mom’s eyes do the same thing. Only, hers change to green when she’s angry. What is it for him? I hope he’s not angry. His eyes finally settle on blue, and we continue to intently focus on each other.

I feel this strange pull to be closer to him. Like something deep inside me is calling out to this guy. It’s saying that he is safe and I can trust him. That scares me enough to not move toward him. I don’t even know his name! How can I be so sure that he’s trustworthy? Why do I have a connection to him without even uttering a single word? Who is this man?