When they had composed themselves enough to move Brandy intertwined her fingers with Rowan's. "Come on, L's a great cook."
Rowan smiled at her showing perfect white teeth. Her voice low and sultry she answered. "I'd love to, thank you." Brandy's heart thumped, if nothing else she would settle for hearing her voice forever. Latisha had changed into a French Maids uniform complete with fish net stockings and stiletto heels, his wig was long and platinum blonde. He raised the flipper at them. "Out, out of my domain, get your beers and move it or lose it!" He mumbled to himself. "I can't create under these conditions, they disrupt my sensitive nature and the man comes out!" Banging came from the kitchen along with a deep baritone voice singing an Italian opera then a soprano voice was heard. Rowan cocked her dark eyebrow and tried to look into the kitchen. Brandy noticed Rowans quizzical glance. "He's a La Cage A Folly performer in Dupont Circle, he tries out all his characters on me first so it's never a dull moment around him."
Rowan brought her head back around to study her companion. She noticed the small laugh lines at the corners of her sea green eyes, accented by perfect dark brows, this was a person who's spirit was pure with no shadows.
"You don't talk much do you?" Brandy watched as walls slipped in to place behind blue eyes. "I'm sorry, it's that I'm just so use to being around boisterous people, so if I offend you please accept my apology."
"No need, it's just been a very long time since I've been around people."
Brandy cast her eyes down to where she was peeling the label off of her beer. "I wanted to thank you for all the work you have done here for me. I was shocked, especially today after seeing the new deck and you up on the roof." A flashback came before her eyes of Rowan standing on the peak, a blush colored her face because of the liquid warmth developing between her legs. "I wanted to thank you but."
"After all the rumors you've heard, you were afraid."
She looked sheepishly at Rowan. "Most of the roomers about me I started." Two sets of eyes widened at her statement. Brandy cleared her throat and asked her why.
"After having neighbors drive past all the time and try to see what I was doing, I got tired of it, with in 30 minutes I ended up doing the most peculiar things even though I was sitting outside reading a book when they drove past."
Latisha leaned forward his brown eyes twinkling. "Tell us what you did, I have a feeling you have a very wicked sense of humor!"
A red faced Rowan dropped her head as a grin formed on her lips, looking up from under her dark brows she wiggled them at her friends. "Lots of nasty stuff!"
"Do tell or I may become butch on you!"
"Now this was before I made the firewood wall, I got tired of the rotten brats teasing Hecate so I went to the goodwill store in town and I picked up some clothes and stuff, the basics. I took all this stuff and I threw it out in the front yard covered with catnip spray." She got funny looks from them. "She likes cat toys, so I would only let her out front when the kids were coming up the road and walking past, she would grab the cloths and growl and shake the hell out of them. I would run out there and yell Oh my god you ate another kid didn't you, that's 6 this year! Needless to say the brats ran home and told so the story spread.
"You are a sick bitch girlfriend!"
Brandy raised her eyebrow at her. "What about the police did they hear about it?"
"Oh yeah, the sheriff came up and I had to explain everything and as he was leaving he told me when he got home he had some kids to scare and that he wished he had thought of what I had done. Rowan looked at her watch. "Well it's late and I don't want to keep you two up, thank you for supper and your company."
"I'll walk you out." Brandy offered while Latisha cleaned up the coffee cups. When Brandy returned Latisha was wearing a pink negligee, fuzzy slippers and a pink scarf on his bald head. Dropping on to the couch Latisha struck a seductive pose. "Rita Hayworth eat your heart out!" Pinning his friend with sultry brown eyes. "So did you kiss her?"
Her eyes popped and jaw dropped.
"Close it sister, it's very unbecoming and reminds me of one of those rubber dolls, now tell me or I'll sing the Titanic Theme song alllllll night long!"
Brandy covered her ears at the thought of hearing that song all night. "Of course not!" {pushing the longing deep inside) "This is the first time I have actually spoken to her."
"Oh but I know she has an effect on you. I was waiting for you to jump her at the table tonight!" Brandy dropped into her recliner hoping the shadows would cover the red color of her face. "Come on girlfriend don't be shy, you two starring at each other just about set the table on fire, that woman is beautiful! Those blue eyes, high cheekbones, strong jaw, straight nose, she's a goddess! Hell if I wasn't a queen I'd chase after her myself!"
Brandy spoke softly. "I see a lot of pain behind her eyes, she must have been really hurt by someone. Right now I just want a friend up here to talk to. If more comes from that it'll have to come from her."
Rowan laid in bed with her dog at her side thinking of a little blonde, how her nose wrinkles when she laughs and the innocent touches she gives when making a point. How she gives her undivided attention when someone is talking. She wondered why she had chosen to live up here by herself when she was obviously a people person, and to have taken on such a huge job as fixing up a falling down house with no help. That's when she decided to help her as much as she could, after all she had a lot of time on her hands and it would be nice to have a friend to talk to.
Latisha went back to his apartment to get ready for his next set of shows at the club. While Brandy went back to work after her six month leave of absence. Rowan was lost, she had gotten use to them being around. They would often invite her over for supper or have a few beers before turning in for the night. Now Brandy would leave at 4am and not get home sometimes until after 6pm looking worn out. But today she was shocked when she saw a strange truck with top rails over the bed and loaded down with lumber and a long tool box across the bed by the cab pull in to her yard. She went to her gate and watched as the door opened and a booted foot stuck out. She gasped as Brandy crawled out completely covered in red clay from head to toe. Rowan came across the road to stand beside the truck. Brandy almost had a heart attack when she turned and saw her standing there.
"Gods you scared me!" She slapped a grinning Rowan's arm. "Your to quiet I'm gonna get you a cow bell to wear around."
"Your home early today."
"Yeah well work was a real bitch today."
"From the looks of you I'd say so." she looked in the bed of the truck at the tools laying around. "Where's your truck?"
Green eyes filled with tears, Brandy shook her head. "You don't want to know!" sobs over took her, Rowan at a loss as to why she was crying pulled her in to her arms. Her small friend buried her face against her shoulder she held her until the she stopped crying.
"Are you Ok?" She asked when she looked down to see red rimmed eyes looking up at her. "I'm sorry for falling apart and getting you covered in mud."
"Don't worry about it, now come on go get cleaned up and then you can tell me what happened."
Brandy stepped into the kitchen with her hair still wet, dressed in a T-shirt and faded Levi's, Rowan handed her a cup of coffee and motioned for her to sit.
"Now tell me what happened today."
Brandy took a deep breath to help control her emotions. "I work construction and for the past year I've been having a problem with one of the guys at work. Every day he hits on me, asks me out makes rude comments and at first I was nice and said no thanks. But it got worse, every chance he got he would terrorize me, he started rumors that we had slept together, so then the rest of the jerks started on me. Some of them offered me money if I would give them blow jobs or other sexual acts." Rowan was getting madder by the minute, her jaws clenched tight with the grinding of her teeth. Brandy looked up at the noise to see the stormy blue eyes, covering fisted hands she rubbed them gently. "It's ok Rowan, I don't have to worry about it any more. Anyway 6 months ago my Aunt passed away so I took a leave of absence so that I could get her estate taken care of and hopefully things would cool off at work." Tears filled her eyes, wiping them away she tried to give Rowan a small smile but failed.
"Go on."
"The minute I went back to work it started up again, this time I got pissed and told him even if he was the last man on earth and I wasn't gay I still wouldn't fuck him!" She gave Rowan a grin that quickly turned in to a sob. "He grabbed me between the legs and yelled to his asshole friends, nope no strap on tools today! Before he could turn around I sucker punched him and when he dropped I beat the shit out of him."
"You should have killed the son of a bitch, did your foreman know this was going on?"
Brandy let go of Rowans hands, she stood up and walked over to look out her kitchen window. "Oh yeah, from the very beginning!"
"And he didn't do anything?"
"Right like he's going to fire his own son, no it was easier to get rid of me than him, their a bunch of drunken assholes!"
"Did your foreman give you a pink slip?"
Brandy grabbed her wallet of the counter, finding the paper she handed it to Rowan who just held it.
If he fired you whose truck do you have and where's yours?"
Tears flowed down her cheeks. "While I was in the office him and his asshole friends pushed it into the basement we had just dug then they covered it with a dump truck full of clay, that's how I got so muddy, I was trying to get my stuff out of it but it's completely smashed. Rowan got up and pulled her into her arms. In-between sobs Rowan found out that one of the older guys had loaned her his truck to get home and that he would take care of having hers towed away. Brandy wrapped her arms around Rowans waist taking comfort in the tall women's warmth. Rowan opened the pink slip as she read her body trembled. Brandy pulled back to look up in to the most terrifying look she had ever seen. Dark blue eyes raged, her teeth bared in a feral look, Rowan growled deep in her chest "Get your boots on!" She did as she was told, Rowan pulled her out the door.
"Wait I have to lock my door!"
In two strides they were at Rowan's truck and before she knew it she was inside Hecate was in the back and Rowan was pulling down the road. "Don't worry about your house the minute they see you with me no one will bother you."
They drove in silence, Brandy worried her bottom lip the whole way, then just about jumped from the truck when they pulled into her former work site where she was building houses. "What are we doing here?" She choked.
"I'm going to have a talk with your foreman."
"Rowan you don't have to do this, I can find another job really!"
"I know you can but this is something I enjoy doing." She gave a throaty laugh sending chills up Brandy's spine.
"This will be the most fun I've had in years!" Rowan growled. They pulled up to where the group of workers were standing around Brandy's truck, what wasn't smashed was getting that way by one of the guys using a sledge hammer on it. "Let me guess the foreman's son?" Looking at the bruises on his face Rowan grinned. "You did that to him?" Brandy nodded her head. They walked up to the group of men standing there. "Brandy I want you to point out the men who have harassed you." Then she spoke to the men. "When she points you out I want you to step off to the side." The one with the sledge hammer came up to her dropped the hammer at her feet and went face to face with her.
"And who the fuck do you think you are?" Rowans look became feral as she replied. "Your worst nightmare!"
She pushed him away as she started towards the trailer they used for an office.
"Pushy bitch, why don't you give me a blow job since your bitch won't!"
Rowan froze mid stride, turning she put Brandy behind her. "Come here stud I'll give you something." He came towards her casting a grin over his shoulder at his groupies. Before he knew it he was on his back with blood gushing out his nose with a boot on his throat. "Move and I'll snap your neck!" At that time an over weight slob of a man pushed his way to the front of the workers.
"What the fuck is going on here Chancellor, I fired you, now get your girlfriend and get the fuck off my site!"
Rowans tall form was 2 heads taller than him which made the pudgy fucking bastard have to look up.
"You the foreman here?"
"Yeah now get!"
"Oh I don't think so, you see your fired!" She added a toothy smile at the end. The group of men started laughing. "Brandy pick out those men for me, then I will give each and everyone of you my undivided attention."
Whoops and cat calls went out, once Brandy had finished, out of the 15 men only 4 older men stood alone. Rowan looked to the small group and singled out one.
"Jake you'll come with us when we leave so you can pick up your truck." He smiled and answered with "Yes Ma'am." The other assholes started mimicking him and yelling insults. Rowan rubbed her hands together. "Now where was I ...oh yes looking all of them in the eye she laughed and smacked her hands together.
"Your all fired, how's that?" Crossing her arms over her chest she stood with her feet apart. Brandy came up to her side. "What are you doing Rowan, this is nuts!"
Blue twinkling eyes looked down at her. "No this is fun!" She looked back at the ex-foreman who was telling her and her bitch to leave or he was going to call the police.
"Jake your senior man here tell these assholes who I am!"
Jake stepped beside her and Brandy, with a big smile on his aged face. "You just got fired by R.J. SHERWOOD she owns the company." 12 mouths dropped open, not counting Brandy's who grabbed Rowans belt to keep from falling over.
"Jake your the new foreman, Brandy your the assistant. The rest of you get in your trucks and get off my site now!!" She pointed to the other 3. "You men put in for 16 hours I'll sign it and go home and spend some time with your families.
With Jake gone Rowan took Brandy inside her fortress to her house. It was the first time that anyone had been in her house since she moved in. Brandy's eye's bulged at the wood work, everything was either walnut, oak, curly maple or cherry and it shined like glass. She felt like she was in a modern day log cabin. Following Rowan to her office she watched as she made phone calls and updated her computer files. Brandy looked at all the certificates on the wall. They were either business or architecture degrees from Ohio State. Her attention was brought back by the sound of her name.
"I need your insurance card for your truck." Handing it over she watched as Rowan punched something in to her computer then hit send.
"What kind of truck do you like?" Brandy sat on the floor beside her chair. "I like my truck it was old but I was mine."
Blue eyes captured her, a warmth flowed from them, reaching down she pushed blond hair off her brow then caressed her cheek. "Give me 5 minutes and I'll be done then we'll go get something to eat."