Maid to Fit Read Online Free PDF Page A

Ronnie had been raised not to impose on people’s generosity.
     He needed to start looking for an apartment that would allow pets, specifically big
     dogs. After parking the truck in the driveway, he knocked on the door only to have
     Rusty open it with an angry look on his face.
    “Your damn dog has been whining all day, and I’m pretty sure there aren’t any IEDs
     or the like anywhere in my house. I think he has PTSD. Find him a doggy shrink or
     something. Damn!” Rusty said, holding the door open for Ronnie to enter. “Did you
     get the kid home okay?”
    “Yeah, and I did one better. Cleaned the kitchen and part of the dining room and put
     some dinner in the oven. The kid needs me to pick her up from practice tomorrow, but
     I could probably take Buck along for the ride. Maybe getting him out for a while will
     help with the anxiety. God knows it’s a little rough for
me
to acclimate to civilian life. Still keep looking over my shoulder for…” He shook
     his head at his own absurdity.
    The blank look that so often crossed Rusty’s face when any of them mentioned that
     day showed up for a brief moment.
    Ronnie let the subject drop and entered the small living room of Rusty’s house. Buck
     got up from the large pillow where he’d been lying and made his way over to Ronnie.
     When Ronnie sat down on the couch, Buck laid his head on Ronnie’s lap and looked up
     at him with large, sad eyes. The dog was even more lost than the men were now that
     they were no longer enlisted.
    Just like in the service, though, they had each other’s backs. They would get through
     this adjustment period as a team—and that team included Buck.
    Ronnie, Buck and Rusty watched television for a bit until Seth and Ian showed up.
     Then they all sat around the dining room table playing cards and talking about civilian
     life and their cleaning jobs. Buck seemed more relaxed with them all around. Maybe
     he was just lonely without all of them.
    No matter what this cleaning job with the Clarks entailed, he could always count on
     these guys. Around them, he was just Ronnie…not chauffeur to a teenage cheerleader
     and meal planner for the Clarks. Once he got his feet underneath him in this job,
     he could start looking for a permanent place for himself and Buck.
    * * *
    While he was surfing the internet the following morning trying to figure out what
     classes he should sign up for at the local community college, his cell phone rang.
     He didn’t recognize the number but he answered anyway.
    “Hello, this is Megan with the Emory Group. Kayla Clark asked me to call you. There
     is an envelope here at my desk for you. Would you be able to stop by and pick it up
     today?” she asked.
    “Sure. Maybe around lunchtime. Will Kayla be available around that time? I’d like
     to meet with her for just a few minutes.”
    “I’m sorry, Kayla normally works through lunch,” Megan replied.
    “She has to eat, right? It would only take a minute. I just want to make sure I’m
     clear about what she expects from me,” he said.
    “Kayla is usually on the run from the time she walks in the door until long after
     I leave for the day. I’m sorry, sir,” Megan replied.
    “Fine.” He sighed. “I’ll come by around noon and pick up the envelope.”
    He’d met the kid and talked to the mom briefly. Where was the husband in all this?
     What kind of man let his wife work her fingers to the bone and didn’t make sure she
     at least
ate
on a regular basis? The man obviously didn’t help around the house, but maybe he
     worked even more than Kayla did.
    Rusty had always said Ronnie should do whatever needed to be done. Feeding his new
     employer sounded like a good place to start.
    After his morning workout and a shower, he got dressed and then picked up a sandwich
     from one of the more trendy restaurants. He doubted the mom was a fast-food kind of
     woman. He parked his older model truck in a parking lot full of expensive-looking