Two months of sewing delicate rows of tiny pearls and witnessing the tearful smiles of two brides who would treasure those dresses for the rest of their lives.
She sent up a little prayer that those dresses would be treasured through a lifetime of wedded bliss.
Now, where was her brother?
She wanted to get home, pour a glass of wine, and relax in her new hot tub just long enough to ease the tension that still hadn't worked its way out of her body. She had meetings tomorrow with several brides, a groom, and four society princesses looking for the perfect dress to wear to the perfect party.
She grinned at the thought. The women scheduled to go through the dozens of books filled with ball gowns, slinky satiny gowns, and silky clouds of perfect creations tailored to bring a gasp to the most jaded lips would bring a much-needed boon to the shop.
The financial crisis hitting the world at the moment hadn't seemed to affect the sale of dresses, gowns, and various accessories that were "must-haves" for the well-put-together society princess.
Mikayla checked her watch, tapped her fingers on the steering wheel again, and blew out an irritated breath.
Scotty better hope he didn't need her to ever pick him up again. This was it. She had been sitting here for ten minutes already. Where was he?
Turning the CD off, she opened the door to the Jeep and stepped out of the vehicle.
Her nose wrinkled at the smell of oil, mud, and what she swore was sweaty men. What was it about construction sites? Every time she had been forced to come out after her brother she swore the place smelled like guy BO.
This was the last time she would allow herself to be guilted into this. Scotty was going to have to get himself a girlfriend or something. Someone willing to make this drive and go searching for him, again, because he needed a ride.
The last time he had needed a ride Mikayla had ended up waiting an hour for him to finish what he swore was an important project before he left. She'd learned later he'd been playing poker in one of the toolsheds.
The rat.
Gritting her teeth, she pulled her cell phone from the holder at her hip and hit his number.
It rang.
"This is Scotty; leave a message." Voice mail. She hated it. She hung up without leaving a message. She would end up saying something she was certain she would regret.
Dammit, the least he could do was answer his phone.
"Listen, I told you I was taking care of it."
The sound of an angry voice above had Mikayla stepping back to stare up at the building, searching for the source of it. Perhaps Scotty was up there.
She was going to kill him.
A quiet murmur of another voice had her straining to hear what was said.
"Look, you owe me already. It's time to f**king pay up, you ignorant bastard. I told you, I need the f**kin' money. I did my part; now you do yours."
Mikayla's nose wrinkled as she searched for bodies to go with the vulgar words.
There was a low, quiet murmur in response.
"Look, I've had about enough of this. Pay the f**k up before I let him know exactly what's going on here."
The voice belonged to Scotty's boss. Eddie was his name. The foreman, Eddie Foreman. All three of her brothers snickered over the name.
Her lips parted to speak, to let the foreman know she was there and, she hoped, to find out where her brother was.
"What the hell are you doing? Put that gun the hell away. Have you f**king lost your mind?"
Mikayla stared up in horror as the pair came into view.
"You're costing me too much, Eddie." The voice was low, a harsh, angry growl that sent a shard of fear racing up Mikayla's spine, but what met her eyes had terror streaking through her. The gun in his hand, even from five stories up, drew her gaze, the dull black reflecting the last rays of the sun with a wicked, vicious light.
She jerked her gaze from the gun to the man holding it, her mouth going dry at the shadowed face she recognized despite the steadily dimming sunlight. It was Maddix Nelson, the owner of the construction company her brother worked for, and Maddix was holding a gun on his foreman.
She could see Eddie Foreman's face clearly. His heavy features were twisted into lines of disbelief and fear. Maddix Nelson's face, on the other hand, was cold. Colder than Mikayla could ever remember seeing it. And she had seen him many times over the past several years. All three of her brothers worked for him. The oldest brother, only two years younger than Mikayla, had worked for Nelson Building and Construction for over four years now.
Her father worked with Maddix through the plumbing business he owned.
She could feel her hands shaking, her stomach clenching in horror, as she watched Maddix lift the gun until it was pointed directly at Eddie Foreman's chest.
"You're crazy!" Eddie wheezed. "Put that f**ker down, man. All I want is my friggin' money. You owe it to me."
"You owed me results, Eddie," Maddix snarled, his lips pulling back from Eddie's lips in anger.
Mikayla watched in suspended disbelief as Eddie stepped back, though there was no way to escape. A thick steel beam met his back. There was only one way to go, and Maddix Nelson had that way blocked.
She had to do something. What could she do?
Mikayla could feel her chest tightening in fear, in total and complete disbelief, as Maddix took a step closer.
Mikayla backed to the Jeep, gripped the door, and scrambled inside. She had to give Eddie a chance. There was no one else around.
She had to do something.
"Don't do this, man!" Eddie cried out.
Mikayla laid on the horn, praying. . . .
She screamed at the sharp retort of gunfire. Throwing the Jeep into gear, she screamed again, hysteria threatening to overtake her as Eddie fell five stories to the rough ground below, obviously dead.
He fell faceup, his eyes wide, staring blankly as Mikayla hit the gas. She heard the bullets hit the driver's side door. One tore through, cracking the hard plastic of the gearbox, sending shards of sharp plastic flying.
Ducking over the steering wheel, she raced from the job site. Mikayla's hands shook as she tore at the cell phone at her side. Pulling it free, she hurriedly hit the programmed speed dial as sobs tore from her chest.
"Hey, Miki, Scotty called--" Her father's voice came over the line.
"Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Daddy, he killed him! He killed him! I saw it. I saw it all!"
Heavy sobs shook her body as she raced off the rough dirt road onto the interstate and raced for home, for her parents.