Simmons Brothers Series: Boxed Set

by Danielle Gray

  Pete

  A Simmons Brothers Story

  by Danielle Gray

  Pete

  This publication is part of a series of products and publications. For more information, please visit: http://www.Operation40k.com/.

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  Copyright 2017 Danielle Gray

  All RIGHTS RESERVED. One or more global copyright treaties protect the information in this document. This Special Report is not intended to provide exact details or advice. This report is for informational purposes only. Author reserves the right to make any changes necessary to maintain the integrity of the information held within. This Special Report is not presented as legal or accounting advice. All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. No parts of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission of the copyright owner.

  NOTICE OF LIABILITY

  In no event, shall the author or the publisher be responsible or liable for any loss of profits or other commercial or personal damages, including but not limited to special incidental, consequential, or any other damages, in connection with or arising out of furnishing, performance or use of this book.

  All Characters, events and locations in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, dead or living, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Stop reading NOW if you don’t like sweet, romantic stories with a little spice in them…

  Chapter One

  The breeze let up, going through the ranch with a subtle energy and making Pete Simmons hold onto his hat as it passed through. He was slightly taken aback by the strength of the breeze, He frowned, his eyes on the clear blue skies marred only with the presence of a few white clouds.

  “Rain,” he sighed before he took his hat off, holding it securely in his hands.

  It didn’t make him quicken his pace but it did make his face preoccupied, hardly aware of where he was walking. It wasn’t hazardous in any way, he knew the ranch like the back of his hand and he fancied that he would be able to make his way to the farmhouse with his eyes closed, not that he’d actually tried that particular activity yet. That was what living in a ranch for the last twenty-five years did to you. You remembered everything with perfect clarity.

  He reached the farm house, taking a second to soak it in. It looked amazing after all the renovations they had done. The house had originally been a one-story house in which he and his brothers had had to share rooms but after the ranch started to grow, become busier and started bringing in more money, the four brothers who occupied the home decided that they didn’t really want to share rooms anymore, so they had added another floor, making it a two-story ranch house. Now the four brothers had their own rooms, their own lives and their own affairs to deal with.

  Hit by a pang of nostalgia, Pete couldn’t help but ponder on it as he walked up the stairs inside. He was then struck with a pang of hunger, having realized that he hadn’t eaten all morning but there was another pressing issue that he had to take care of and he hoped that he could do it right now.

  He didn’t meet anyone as he walked inside. The living room and adjoining kitchen was empty and quiet. He carefully looked around and deduced that no one had been around for a while. He could tell because there were three empty mugs, unwashed, lying by the sink. He had set out earlier than his brothers, and had washed his mug of coffee before leaving; his other brothers did not have the same mind set or rather they didn’t usually remember to do so.

  He sighed and walked over to the sink, washing each mug and hanging it up before he was struck with another pang of hunger. Since he was already doomed to waiting, he wasn’t going to go and try finding his brothers in the vast area that made up their farmhouse, he would much rather get something to eat.

  Except as he opened the door to the refrigerator, it was empty save a half-filled gallon jug of milk and some cold cut pieces of ham. Seeing the milk, he remembered that they had a box of cereal and decided that beggars couldn’t be choosers so he rooted through the cabinets until he found it. He had stuffed a handful of the crunchy treats into his mouth when the door opened and in walked his brother Mark, holding a bag.

  Mark cocked his head to the side, moving a few strands of dark hair away from his green eyes.

  “That’s not good for your health” was Mark’s sage advice.

  Pete ignored it, his eyes on the bag. “What’s that?”

  “Food from the diner, I figured someone was going to end up hungry back here,” Mark said, setting the bag down. He had hardly stepped back before Pete, abandoning his cereal box, pounced on it.

  “Thanks,” Pete said, his voice muffled as he stuffed fries into his mouth.

  Mark smiled and then sedately reached for his own food, a sandwich, which he proceeded to eat civilly.

  “Maybe we’re getting lazy,” Pete said. “There aren’t any groceries in the fridge.”

  “I think it’s more like we’re getting busy, ever since the expansion on the grazing land, we haven’t had time to breathe, let alone to relax or do anything besides ranching,” Mark said.

  “Speaking of that, have the animals been put in yet? I think it might rain.”

  “I noticed,” Mark said. “I had George tell the other hands to get that done.”

  George was the foreman of the farm. He reported to all of them or at least the one he could find at the moment. They had a couple of hands on the ranch and as the brothers couldn’t look after all of them, George did it for them. They trusted George because of his hard work and impressive ethics, but it didn’t in any way ease the burden on them. The four were usually out on the ranch most of the time either way.

  “Wonder where Drew and Jaimie are,” Pete said.

  “I think Drew was about to head towards the sheep pen and Jaimie said he had to go to town to do something for the council.”

  Out of the four brothers, Jaimie was the one who had interests other than the ranch. Each brother handled a different aspect of the ranch, Pete was in charge of the farm’s accounts, Mark looked over the day to day management, Drew handled the selling and buying of livestock, while Jaimie kept a firm root on the current prices and markets so that they could buy items the ranch needed at great rates. It was a pretty even division among them and made sure that they worked in harmony with each other, all while letting each brother enjoy what he was particularly good at.

  “Maybe we should go grocery shopping,” Pete said but without any motivation in his voice.

  The four weren’t exactly accomplished cooks but they managed to cook enough to survive. Ever since their last housekeeper moved away two years ago, they had been roughing it in a manner of speaking.

  “I have to make sure that everyone works; you know how the new part time hands are. Maybe you should do that,” Mark replied.

  “I would but I have to look over the books again,” Pete sighed. “We might just have to go out to eat again.”

  “It’s getting a bit old by now,” Mark said but as he spoke, the door opened and someone else walked in.

  “What’s getting old?” Drew asked as he spotted the food. “I am famished.”

  Watching him wolf down the food, Pete would never have guessed he was second oldest of them. But that was the thing about Drew, his guileless dark eyes with the messy dark hair and easy smile, duped people into thinking that he was the youngest, the position that Mark coveted. Out of the four of them, Drew was the only one who hadn’t inherited the green eyes that their mother had passed down. Instead, he resembled their father the most.

  “The eating out,” Mark answered.


  “Are we going out tonight?” Drew said. “That’s kind of old.”

  “Don’t repeat what I just said,” Mark said playfully punching Drew in the arm.

  Drew paid no attention to the mild admonishment.

  “How are the animals?” Pete asked.

  “Doing well, though they could do without the manhandling by the new hands,” Drew said with annoyance in his voice.

  “I’ll talk to them. They keep ignoring me,” Mark said with a sigh. “Any more misdemeanors and I’ll ask George to fire them.”

  Pete drank in the conversation. He loved the rare times they got together, the meal times where they actually talked. It was a small bit of peace during hectic days. Something to cherish. After all, the only family they had was each other. Their parents had passed away a couple of years ago and the four relied on each other for moral support and love. They never let each other feel lonely; their bond was strong and unyielding.

  Mark and Drew continued to talk and Pete cut in to say,

  “You think Jaimie will come back?”

  “Probably, he did say he was going to be back soon,” Drew said. “Speak of the devil.”

  The sound of footsteps could be heard and the oldest of the Simmons clan walked in. His dark green eyes were tired but he smiled when he saw the three of them, sitting down as Mark silently pushed the food towards him.

  “How was the council?” Drew asked cheerful. “Have fun chatting with the members?”

  “You know how much I hate going there,” Jaimie said with a sigh.

  “What happened this time?” Pete asked.

  “Henderson tried to suggest that we were asking too much for our wool and that we should decrease our prices.”

  “How does that come up during a council meeting?” Mark wondered.

  “Beats me, Henderson always manages to bring up the most useless things,” Jamie grunted as he ate. “I wish I could say something but he is a respected member and it really isn’t my place to judge.”

  “Privately?” Drew suggested.

  “Not worth it.”

  They were distracted by the soft sounds of rain hitting their roof and Pete smiled knowing that he had been right about it all along.

  “You had George and the hands put all the animals back in?” Jaimie asked.

  Mark nodded and for a few minutes they ate silently. Pete didn’t say anything but his mind was working fast. He was thinking about the inevitable trip to the diner and he didn’t really like the sound of it. It was at this moment that he saw how futile the whole practice was. It all seemed rather useless and tiresome to always have to eat out. Looking down at the half-eaten sub in front of him, he recalled Edna’s homemade cooking. It had always made him look forward to meal times.

  And so, he cleared his throat and said,

  “Do you think we should advertise for another housekeeper?”

  Three pairs of eyes stared at him, confused, then taken aback.

  “Another housekeeper?” Mark said. “What made that idea pop in your head?”

  “I was thinking about the state of the house. We’re rarely here and I’m really getting tired of going out to eat. We can’t even stay back to cook because we are just getting busier by the day. Isn’t it better to start looking for someone to take care of the house?”

  “In retrospect,” Jamie said. “That is a good idea but you also know what happened the last time.”

  After Edna had left them, they had tried to hire a new housekeeper but that had ended in disaster. The girl simply couldn’t adjust to their unique tastes and schedules as Edna had so she had left without a backward glance, making them think that they would never be able to find someone like Edna again. But after two years, it was getting tiresome to eat out or fend for themselves, so maybe they could find someone who would suit them now.

  “It’s not a bad idea and we can certainly afford it,” Drew said. “Maybe we should put out fliers?”

  Pete sighed. “Not fliers, advertisements in the newspapers of course. We won’t find anyone from town, they’ll be more hell bent on trying to get one of us to date them.”

  “Accurate and crude,” Mark said approvingly.

  Pete didn’t say anything at that but he did wait patiently for Jaimie to speak. Though they all had their views, it was Jaimie’s perspective that really mattered the most to them. As the oldest in the family he was in a manner of speaking, the head of the family.

  “I say we go for it. I’ll draft up something and send it off tomorrow,” Jaimie said.

  Pete smiled and couldn’t help but feel a bloom of hope as he thought once more of home cooked meals and well-laundered clothes.

  It was going to turn out great.

  Chapter Two

  Lana Jones looked down at the snippet clutched in her fingers, slipping between the crevices. She was undoubtedly nervous; her heart indicated that as it thumped against her chest, telling her that what she was doing was completely out of the norm of what she usually did. It was unprecedented, wrong, or at least it was supposed to feel like it was wrong. Instead, it felt exciting and oh so right.

  She smoothed down her dress, aware that her way of sitting had caused the folds to look wrinkled. She was pushed against the side of the bus and luckily there was no one sitting around her so they couldn’t see her other hand clutching a part of her dress almost as if she was going to tear it off.

  She looked down at the advertisement once again.

  WANTED:

  Housekeeper to do the washing, cleaning, cooking and general management of a farm house. The occupants are a family of four with various schedules. Candidates eager to apply must be ready to accommodate them. Boarding will be provided and the pay is negotiable.

  It seemed like a standard advertisement but for her it was the first offer of freedom. This was what she had needed to get out of her stifling life and there was no way that she was going to give it up. She had to make sure that she nailed this interview or else she would be back there again, back among the naysayers who would most certainly make sure that she never went off anywhere again.

  Perhaps she was being dramatic but that was how she had always felt among her family. Their mind set had always been located on one aspect and even the thought of leaving their small town had become a form of taboo thinking.

  But she had done just that and even if it meant she had to apply for job that she had no experience in, she was going to make sure that she succeeded at it. This was her chance to live, free of the weight of unrealistic and certainly unwanted expectations.

  Unless there were other, more suitable candidates.

  She groaned softly. She had to stop putting herself down. There was going to be a way for her to succeed and that wouldn’t be by beating herself up over circumstances she couldn’t change. She just had to be confident in herself and put the right foot forward.

  She wasn’t really sure what to feel at this point, except nervous, she was definitely feeling nervous.

  She read through the advertisement once more and thought about the family of four. The parents would no doubt be nice, but what about the children? Would she be able to take care of two young or rambunctious children?

  She looked around the half empty bus. It had been a long journey and now that her excitement was dying down, she was starting to feel the tiredness in her body. She was planning to spend a night at the hotel in town before she would go for the interview. It was already dark and she wasn’t going to show up like a phantom to their house.

  The bus finally came to a halt, shaking her as it did before it settled down. She stood up before sitting back down again, deciding to let everyone else get off first. Finally, once she was among the last people on the bus, she grabbed her luggage and stepped onto the street. She only had one suitcase to call her own and as she held it, she turned around, looking apprehensively at the outline of the sleepy little town.

  It seemed so lonely but she went on, consulting the signs to try and find her way to the in
n. She had memorized the directions to it and now she tried to follow them to the tee. Regardless it took her a good ten minutes before she finally rounded the corner and found the one lit area in the dark town. The sign said it was the inn but looking at it, she didn’t think that it was much more than a building with some rooms for rent. But then again with her limited budget, what else did she expect? Whatever she had, she had to be happy with it.

  She took a deep breath and walked through the doors, taken aback by the instant warmth of the atmosphere. She didn’t realize that she had been so cold and she reeled in the warmth. As she looked around, she decided that looks could be deceiving as the inside looked comfortable and soothing.

  She went up to the front desk where a young girl was lounged with a magazine in her hands. She had long dark hair and was dressed casually in jeans and a brown jacket.

  “Hi, my name is Lana Jones, I made a reservation over the phone?” Lana said politely.

  The girl gave her a look of disinterest before putting down the magazine on her lap, reaching forward for a ledger which she skimmed through. She took a few minutes during which time Lana fiddled with her fingers.

  “Here,” the girl said, suddenly tossing the room key at her. Lana startled and managed to the catch the key as the girl went back to her magazine.

  Great service, she thought as she walked up the stairs. Then after a second she wondered why a girl looking as young as her, she could swear that the girl was at the age to be in high school, wasn’t sleeping. Were high school kids supposed to be up this late?

  Not my business, she decided as she walked across the hallway looking for the number of her room. She found it and unlocking the door, walked into what she expected to be a sparse room. She wasn’t far off that assumption as the room only contained a bed with a small table and two chairs. The door to the bathroom was ajar and she peeked inside, sighing in relief that it wasn’t dirty.

  This is good enough, she decided, setting her suitcase on the bed.

  She opened it, taking out some night clothes before putting it back down and stretching her arms. She could do with a shower but it was too late so she just went with changing her clothes. She did go into the bathroom to rinse her face and arms, looking in the mirror to calm herself down. Her dark eyes were unusually bright from nervousness and her dark hair was tangled, puffing up around her shoulders. She tried to untangle the knots with her fingers, threading them between the red strings but it proved too tedious and she went back to get her comb. She brushed it carefully, allowing her mind to drift naturally towards the interview. She didn’t know if she was going to pass it but she had to try her best, didn’t she?