She came back quickly, her hair loose and looking pretty in dry jeans and a yellow top. They walked to the truck and she didn’t speak much until they got to the store.
“Just pick out whatever you need,” Pete said.
She nodded and took the basket, rushing off and disappearing from their sight.
“She seems too quiet,” Pete said.
“Yeah, she’s definitely reserved. Probably scared. She’ll adjust to us soon enough,” Mark said yawning.
“Tired?”
“Yeah, still having trouble. The new workers are really a handful,” Mark said and closed his eyes, deep in thought. It was a habit of his to do that and Pete smiled as he watched his brother.
The two walked around the store, looking at everything and picking out some snacks for themselves. Mark went off to look for something and Pete was just walking around when he turned the corner and found Lana hunched over her cell.
“Something wrong?” he asked
She jumped and shook her head quickly. “Not really.”
“Trying to contact your family?” he asked.
“Something like that,” she said. “There was no reception at the ranch.”
“Yeah, it’s going to get fixed soon. Use the telephone if you have to call someone and if you want to use the Internet, come over to my office.”
“Your office?” she said confused.
“I’ll give you a tour tomorrow so you know who to find when you need to,” he said.
“Thanks,” she said smiling and catching him by surprise. She looked so youthful and pretty that he had to look away. Stop it Pete, he told himself. Hands off the new housekeeper.
She walked over to the aisle, picking out several things but he picked up one of the things she had and said,
“You picked out the same thing again,” he said. “It’s just different brands.”
“Oh I, um, did it by accident. Just put it back,” she said nervously before choosing a furniture polish.
Pete watched her linger over the supplies and said,
“Do you need help with anything?” he said.
“No, just the brands are unrecognizable that’s all.”
Pete couldn’t understand her answer. He had thought that everything was available in different places. Maybe she had never seen it, but he couldn’t help the suspicion he felt growing inside of him. Something didn’t add up when it came to Lana Jones.
Regardless, they finished the shopping trip, getting some food on the way, because Mark said that it was too late to prepare anything, and then they were on their way home.
Pete stared at Lana on the drive, determined to find out exactly what was going on with her.
Three days in, Lana was kind of getting the hang of things or so she thought.
Her food wasn’t getting any better or maybe it was, she was her worst critic after all but they weren’t complaining. At least she could get away with breakfast by making eggs and bacon. God forbid they would ask for anything more complicated than that. Lunches and dinner were hard; she had to be creative in her dishes which was not her strong point.
She made simple dishes, things that didn’t require much technicality but she knew she was running out of options; sooner or later they would wonder why she wasn’t making better dishes. She had jotted down a couple of recipes from her brief trip to the supermarket using the Internet but she was too scared to follow any of it. She had to get familiar with the kitchen, she reasoned, but she knew she was only making excuses.
Out of the four of them, she liked Pete the best. There was something about his manner that pulled at her. Jaimie was intimidating, Drew was almost childlike and Mark’s quietness was unnerving.
Even if she did like Pete, which she wasn’t admitting-even to herself, she tried not to talk too much to him. She didn’t want him to find out anything about her, or her background because she was prone to revealing things. She knew that if he found out anything, he would be the one to send her off. After all, who wanted a housekeeper who couldn’t handle even the most mundane of housekeeping chores?
He had forgotten about his offer to take her around and she didn’t press it because she didn’t want to spend too much time with him. The less the better.
At least she was okay at cleaning but her first trouble came with the laundry. At least they had a washing machine and she had put in their clothes with the correct amount of detergent, or so she had thought, before walking off to clean the rest of the house.
Except when she came back, she had turned their white briefs into a perfect shade of pink because of a red shirt she’d missed while sorting their clothes.
Lana paled when she saw it and she was thinking of ways to hide it when Drew came in to the laundry room and saw the pair of briefs sticking up.
He didn’t scold her as she thought he would. He stared and then burst out laughing.
“Don’t worry about it,” he said grinning. “It happens at times. Edna did it once too.”
Still laughing he left the room and she blessed Edna, who had apparently been their previous housekeeper, for saving her this one time. Next time she did laundry, she would have to remember not to mix up the whites with the colored clothes.
It was on the fourth day that Pete remembered his promise because he came in as she was making her version of a stew. She had put in a lot of things, mushrooms, peppers, meat, but the taste hadn’t gotten there yet. She was despondent when Pete came in and said,
“Am I disturbing?” he asked.
She shook her head. “No, this just needs to boil some.”
Lana had no idea why she had said that, that was a stupid answer anyway, but she forced a smile and thought that maybe it really did just need to boil.
“You want me to show you around the ranch now?” he asked.
Lana nodded looking at the stew. It would take her ten minutes and she would be back. So, she walked off with him, thinking that everything would be fine.
“You know the way to the stables so I’m going to pass that and go to the office which is where I work,” he said.
She nodded and was in awe as she took in everything. It really was beautiful.
“I have never seen anything quite like this before,” she said.
“Surely you have places like this in your hometown,” he said.
“Not nearly as pretty,” she said.
“Maybe one day I’ll swing by and see it,” he said.
“Don’t do that,” she said gripped by sudden fear.
“Why?” he asked curiously.
“It’s not worth it,” she lied. “There’s not much to see other than a few shops and a ranch here or there. It’d be like visiting town and then coming home, same thing, different town.
She was more scared that he would find out about the lies and the references. They had all been lies; she had gotten friends to lie for her but for how long was she going to be able to keep up this lie?
Until she had some money and she could move away. Just a little bit longer, that was all.
“I wouldn’t get the time anyway,” he said as he pointed out the sheep pen. “Too much work here.”
“Are you all always this busy?” she asked.
“We’re getting busier now,” he said. “Mark is thinking about expanding a couple of areas, hiring some more people. It’s always hectic around here.”
“Do you enjoy it?”
A sudden smile appeared and she felt her heart thump louder.
“I do.”
She looked away, afraid he was going to see the blush. What was wrong with her? This was why she had to avoid spending time with him.
“What about you?” he said. “What do you enjoy?”
“Oh, I just like working,” she fibbed.
“Other than that. No interests? Riding? Reading?” he pressed.
“Well,” she said looking at the workers herd the cattle. “I do like the outdoors, walking around, sketching.”
“You’re an artist?” h
e asked, genuinely interested.
“That’s a stretch,” she laughed. “I like scribbling, that’s all.”
They had reached the end of the road and she saw Mark talking to a couple of people with Drew hovering nearby.
“I haven’t seen Jaimie,” she said.
“He’s probably in town,” said Pete. “He likes hanging out with the council members.”
“Is that so?”
“I’m joking. He hates it but he feels it’s his duty to remain there, even if it’s just to protect the ranch.”
“That’s dutiful of him.”
“Jaimie’s big on duty and honor.”
They had arrived at his office which remained nestled in the middle of nowhere, large oak trees shading it from most of the sun’s heat during the day. He walked towards it as she followed along, suddenly elated at the thought of having internet. Maybe if he left her alone, she could search up some quick tips for house workers and take images of them. That way she could understand the difference between the cleaner and polish that she had gotten from the store.
They entered the office and she stared at the clean area with trepidation. It seemed normal enough but the laptop on the desk was what really caught her attention.
“Check it out,” he said. “I’ll be right back.”
She nodded and sat down, for a second thinking that this was where Pete always sat working, the thought made her blush for a second. But then she got over it, quickly searching some tips on the internet. She kept one eye on lookout before taking out her cell to snap some quick images. Just then he walked in and she shut everything down, forcing a smile.
“Done?” he asked.
She nodded. “I better go back to the house. I won’t have lunch ready if I linger any longer.”
“You’ll find your way back alright?” he asked.
“I think so,” she said, staring a little too long at those gorgeous green eyes. If God made a man any more handsome, she had yet to find him.
She nodded once more, before turning and walking off with a wave. She rushed back to the home and was met with another surprise and not a good one. The bottom of the pot the stew had been in was scorched, all the liquid having evaporated. She had not turned down the burner as she left and she looked at it with dismay before thinking of a way to rectify the situation. She added some stock, certainly it couldn’t harm right, and a little bit of wine, sloshing it around and putting it back to simmer. She didn’t dare taste it knowing that it was going to be bad. Somehow, she had it looking presentable as she took it off the heat and thought that it was the end.
Lunch time rolled by and she served everyone with trepidation as she waited for them to object to the meal. They didn’t really look at her as she took a sip of the thick broth, but Mark was the first one who reacted, his face twisting and then he looked at her and said,
“It seems a bit odd, doesn’t it?”
Even now he was being kind and she could have cried at his consideration of her feelings, but then Pete interjected and said,
“It’s my fault. I took her away from cooking to show her around. She is too polite to say anything about it.”
Lana couldn’t help but throw him a grateful look which he returned with a smile. They ate it however and Drew patted her shoulder before they all left. She held Pete back and said,
“I’m so sorry. I’m causing trouble for you all,” she said.
“It’s not your fault,” he said. “You’re trying your best and it can be a big adjustment. I am partly to blame for today after all.”
He patted her shoulder too, a jolt of awareness shocking her when he did, and walked off. She cleaned up the remains of lunch, taking a sip of the stew broth and gagging as they had. It wasn’t good at all. She thought that she would get some cleaning done and consulted her images to see what she had to do.
“Put the cleaner in a little bit of water and use it to wipe floors,” she read and sighed. This was going to be difficult. Was she supposed to use a lot or a little? What about wiping the floors, what did that mean exactly?
She hadn’t touched their rooms but she figured she might right now. Taking a mop and a bucket of clean water, she started the process of cleaning the floors which ended up being better than before. She grabbed the polish, the blog she’d read said that she should wipe it in small amounts or she could ruin the varnish, taking it upstairs with her as well.
The first room was still as messy as she remembered it to be and the first thing she did was wipe the bed frame before going reluctantly over to the desk. She gathered up the papers and kept them in a pile, then went on to clean the desk before leaving and going onto the next rooms.
She thought nothing of it and concentrated on dinner where she re-heated the remains of the stew and had some pita bread heated for them. She thought it would help with the taste and no one complained about it.
It was when she was about to go to bed that she heard someone calling for her. She rushed out to see that it was Jaimie who coincidentally had the room beside hers.
“Did you clean my desk?” he asked in a steady voice.
She nodded, scared and he sighed.
“I had all my important papers sorted out and you messed it all up.”
All she had done was put it together in a pile but maybe that was his thing and she flushed under his gaze.
“I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize…”
“Then don’t touch my things,” he said stiffly and went back inside, making her flinch as he slammed the door shut. Great, she had gotten on the bad side of her employer. This was just perfect.
She was near tears as Pete appeared and said,
“Don’t worry about it,” he said, running his hands comfortingly up and then down her arms. “Jaimie is just particular about his stuff.”
“I keep messing up,” she said, whimpering. “I mess up the food, the clothes, the cleaning…”
“It’s fine,” Pete said. “It happens. Look I’m sure you’ll adjust soon enough. Just don’t give up okay? It’s only been a week, not even that. I’m sure it’ll be fine soon.”
She nodded and smiled through her tear-filled eyes. He squeezed her hands in encouragement before he went back into his room and she went back to hers.
She finally let the tears out, crying softly but she wasn’t sad. Pete had cheered her up and she turned over, thinking that if he was on her side maybe she could figure it all out after all.
When she fell asleep, his face was the last face she saw as she closed her eyes.
Chapter Six
Pete was about to head into town when he noticed something.
It was mid-day, three days after the stew incident, and he was in his office. Even before that, he saw something in his laptop that related to the person who was already on his mind.
He had been thinking a lot about Lana recently, especially her distraught face that night, after Jaimie had scolded her. She had been really upset about Jaimie but Pete was used to it and knew that Jaimie hadn’t really meant to be so gruff. Hopefully she was over it but he had been thinking about this for a while now. He knew that a lot of things didn’t add up. Lana, having claimed to be someone who was suitable for their job as housekeeper was making a lot of mistakes, too many for someone who had the references she’d given them. It didn’t make sense. There was also another nail added to the coffin which was what he had found on his computer. He had been typing something on his web browser when searches came up for a home cleaning website. He had checked his history after that, finding several sites pop up.
The only other person to use the laptop was Lana but he was giving her the benefit of the doubt. Maybe she had to refresh her memory about a stain? But the suspicion was growing more and more. He wasn’t sure what to think at this point.
Hopefully, he thought as he walked out, everything was going to sort itself out.
It was now that Lana decided that she could attempt some pasta.
She had gotten some ground mea
t and she started with the sauce for the pasta, which she thought that she had done a decent job with. The next thing she did was put on a pot of water but it seemed to be taking a while to actually boil so she decided to get the laundry started.
This time she was careful about the clothes that she put in and she went into doing the whole chore without a thought in the world.
Not even about the pot of boiling water that was heating away on the stove.
Pete smelled the smoke before he entered the house.
The front door was open and he could see the slight wisps of smoke drifting out from inside the house. He rushed inside and almost cried out. There was a small but fierce flame burning on the counter beside a smoking pot. He quickly took off his jacket, batting the flame until it was out. The pot, he didn’t dare touch but he did turn off the burner, coughing as he did.
“What’s going on?” Lana’s panicked voice came and this time he was angry because she had almost burned down the house.
“Why the hell would you leave the burner on and walk away?” he roared furiously at her. “The house almost burned down!”
“I didn’t realize…” she stammered tears instantly filling her eyes. “I was trying to hang the laundry and-”
“I don’t care what you were doing!” he shouted back, cutting her off. “You haven’t done anything right during your whole stay here!”
Her bottom lip quivered and he saw tears in her eyes before she ran upstairs and he heard the door to her room shut. He sighed and regretted what he had said. He was angry at her absentmindedness. She had been irresponsible but he shouldn’t have lost his temper and snapped at her like that. He looked at the ruined pot and decided to let it cool before disposing of it. The flame hadn’t been too big but the counter was scorched and would need to be replaced.
He saw the other pan with what looked like a sauce. At least he could do some pasta for the others because Lana wasn’t coming out anytime soon.
It was time to have an honest talk with her.
“The house smells like smoke,” Drew commented as he walked in.
Simmons Brothers Series: Boxed Set Page 4
