Simmons Brothers Series: Boxed Set

by Danielle Gray

  She walked up the path towards the farm house and looked around to see if Mark Simmons was around. She didn’t know what he looked like but she was sure that she could spot and recognize him easily. She had to impress him.

  He had told her to come and see him and she repeated her new name under her breath so that she didn’t end up making any mistake when he called her by that name. The name had been Mathew’s idea. He had said that it fit her name easy enough and she had to agree with him.

  The official excuse at home was that she was attending new pottery classes in town that was going to consume her time. Her father hadn’t questioned her too much about it and Gertrude had been let in on the secret. So, she was set with those two covering for her, she knew that her father wouldn’t suspect that she wasn’t at a pottery class in town. She was also sure that he wouldn’t notice as he was going to start becoming very busy with his new work campaigning to be one of the new members of the council. It was all working out well for her and she couldn’t be happier about it. Now, to secure a job on the Simmons’s Ranch.

  She took a deep breath before she knocked on the door. After a few seconds, it opened and she was face to face with a gorgeous woman who didn’t look much older than she herself was. The woman had a smile ready on her face as she stared at Cat.

  “Hello, how can I help you?” she asked.

  “I’m here to see Mark Simmons,” Cat tried to say in a gruff voice.

  “Come in,” the woman said and Cat walked into the welcoming area of the house. It looked very unlike their house which was extravagant. This house was simple and nice to look at. She sat down on the couch as the lady went to the kitchen to make some tea.

  “Mark did say that someone was going to come along. Usually he holds interviews in the office but I think something came up,” the lady said. “I’m Lana by the way. I’m the housekeeper.”

  “You’re really young to be a housekeeper,” Cat blurted thinking of Gertrude.

  Lana laughed, not taking offense. “I’ve heard that so many times now.”

  She placed a cup of tea in front of Cat who sipped it. It was good tea and she was a nice person to talk to. She couldn’t help but wonder why she was here working for the Simmons. Lana sat down and Cat swallowed nervously, worried about making small talk.

  “Where are you from?” Lana asked.

  “Town,” Cat muttered. That was the story she and Mathew had come up with.

  “Sounds nice. I was supposed to explore the town better, but Pete took up too much of my time.”

  It was at that point that Cat realized that this Pete, probably one of the brothers, was probably her love interest which meant that she was dating one of the brothers. Was that awkward in any way? It was interesting to Cat but she didn’t dwell on it, instead sipping more of the tea. She wondered where Mark Simmons was.

  Just then she heard footsteps and the door opened, a very tall built man walked in and Cat almost dropped the cup in her hands. He had a handsome face, dark green eyes and broad shoulders. He looked around, his eyes settling on her and she had to steady her breath from his hard gaze. It was already scaring her that he seemed to be able to see through her.

  “You must be Caleb Hunter,” he said.

  She nodded and he sat down, with Lana getting up to walk away. Lana disappeared into the background as Mark held his hand out for the file that Cat had. Cat handed it over without a word, thinking about how intimidating he seemed and how fast he seemed to make her heart beat. There was something about him, a brooding look in his eyes that made her nervous.

  “So, you left your last farm?” Mark was asking.

  She nodded. The story that she and Mathew had come up with was that she had worked in a ranch two towns away, but had come back to help her family. He had helped forge the references and had assured her that if anyone called, it would be fine and she needn’t have to worry.

  “You’re being referenced by the Hamilton ranch?” he was asking.

  “Mr. Hamilton said that this would be a good place to work as they didn’t have space for me.”

  “I see. You aren’t as big as I’d expect for a ranch hand,” Mark noted.

  “I’m strong enough,” Cat said. She wasn’t exaggerating, because she was strong enough to handle the horses and having grown up on the ranch, she knew how to act around animals.

  “I understand. Well tell me a bit about yourself.”

  Cat nodded and started to tell the story that she and Mathew had come up with, unnerved by the look Mark continued to give her. It was getting under her skin. He was too serious, too calm for her.

  Finally, she stopped, slightly out of breath and then he said,

  “Okay, I’ll call you.”

  Knowing that this was her notice for dismissal, she got up and headed towards the door. Outside, she almost collapsed thinking about what had just happened. It wasn’t as bad as she thought it was going to be but it wasn’t making her feel at ease either. Who knew what decision he was going to end up making? It was nerve wracking and as she walked back towards home, she hoped that she managed to nail this job.

  ***

  Mark looked over the resume for Caleb Hunter and his eyes lingered over the image that the man had given. There was something about this guy, something that immediately made him think that something was afoot. The man had a slender jaw and those slanted eyes, rather feminine features for even a young man. He was tall enough though and he did seem strong. He really didn’t have a reason not to hire Caleb, but he had to check the references before knowing for sure whether he’d hire the kid or not.

  “I like him,” Lana said suddenly.

  Mark looked at her, standing over his shoulder looking at the resume with interest.

  “You talked to him before I came,” Mark said. “What did he seem like to you?”

  “A bit nervous,” Lana said. “But you are quite intimidating.”

  Mark rolled his eyes. “I think you have me confused with Jaime.”

  “I’m just saying, all of you are pretty intimidating on your own,” Lana said chirpily. “Do you want something to eat?”

  “No thanks, don’t you have class today?” Mark asked.

  “No, I do have a date though.”

  “Is that why Pete took over the office today?” Mark said amused.

  “He has his work,” Lana said mysteriously.

  Mark nodded and she walked upstairs. Mark sat for a few seconds more, looking over the resume before reaching for the telephone. It was time to see what Mathew Hamilton would have to say about this worker he had recommended.

  And if everything worked out, this person was going to be the new worker.

  Chapter Four

  Cat was on edge.

  It was night and she couldn’t sleep. She was desperately waiting for Mathew to come back but he had been held up with an outing with some friends and she didn’t dare to call him and ask if Mark Simmons had called about her references.

  Thinking about the interview, she thought that she had talked too much, maybe she had talked so much that Mark Simmons was thinking that she would be a bad worker. Frustrated, she gripped her pillow and groaned. Why did she have to be nervous? Why couldn’t she be confident like Mathew always seemed to be?

  In the back of her head, Cat knew that she was being a bit unfair to herself. She was confident about everything. But this was her dream, she couldn’t bear the thought of it not coming to fruition. It was going to be devastating if it didn’t.

  She was about to try and go back to sleep when the knock on her door startled her enough to wake her up. She didn’t have to say anything, because Mathew came in anyway, grinning as he did. She was sure that he was just happy from having spent some time with his friends so she didn’t say anything.

  “How was your outing?” she asked.

  “It was great, I got to see a lot of people I haven’t seen in a while,” he said. “You couldn’t sleep?”

  “No,” she said. “I’ve been thinkin
g about the interview.”

  “That bad?” he asked normally.

  “Yeah, I don’t know. Mark Simmons, he’s a bit unnerving, kind of made me feel like he could see through everything.”

  “That’s how he sounded over the phone too.”

  “The phone?”

  “Oh right, he called me today, asking about you.”

  “He did?” Cat said excited.

  Mathew nodded. “I gave him the green light, so I think he might call you tomorrow about the job.”

  Cat couldn’t help but hug Mathew out of sheer relief. She was finally free of all the stress that had accumulated in her in the time that she had been home.

  “Did Gertrude ask anything?”

  Cat shook her head against Mathew’s shoulder.

  “Doesn’t matter then,” Mathew said.

  “Have you seen dad today?” Cat asked. She hadn’t seen him after she had arrived home and she hadn’t really wanted to run into him either. And it had been a good thing that she hadn’t seen her dad either, because she still had the remnant of the wig glue on her forehead. She had to get better at applying that if she was going to continue being a worker there. Well, assuming she would get a call from Mark Simmons.

  Mathew made some small talk before he left to go sleep but Cat continued to lie awake, staring at the ceiling. She looked at the time on her cell, seeing that it was almost eleven. She had better get some sleep; the next day was going to be busy for her, she hoped.

  And so, she closed her eyes, drifting slowly and naturally off to sleep.

  ***

  The next day, she woke up from a phone call.

  It was eight in the morning, later than she usually slept, but that was probably because she hadn’t gotten much rest the day before. She rooted through her sheets for the cell and found it nestled by her pillow. She didn’t recognize the number and cleared her throat as she answered.

  “Hello?” she said.

  “Is this Caleb Hunter?” a familiar voice said.

  And she knew immediately that she had to deepen her voice. So, she did and said,

  “Yes, it is,” she said. “Is this Mr. Simmons?”

  “The one and only, as far as I know anyways,” Mark Simmons said. “I’ve called to offer you a job on my ranch. Today is most convenient but you can from tomorrow if you want.”

  “I understand, sir,” Cat said in her best brusque voice. “I’ll be over by ten.”

  “Good,” Mark said. “I hope to see you there.”

  He hung up and she sighed with the cell pressed against her chest. She had a job. She had something to do now, something she loved!

  She stopped the squeal that erupted in her chest and got ready to leave. If she had to make it to that ranch by ten, she had to hurry up and get ready. The first thing she did was go freshen up then go downstairs to see if her dad was around. Only Mathew was present at the dining table, having some toast.

  “Hey,” Mathew said. “You’re up late.”

  “I know. I slept in. Look, is dad around?”

  “Nope, he went to the stables.”

  “Good, I’m leaving now. Simmons called to say that I had the job. I have to be there at ten,” Cat said gleefully.

  “That’s great, you better hurry up then. I’ll see you tonight.”

  Cat nodded, grabbed a piece of toast and ran out. Mathew had helped her fix an abandoned shed on the outskirts of their ranch so that she could go there and dress up without having anyone discover her. It was the best place because people rarely went there and she was sure that her dad had forgotten all about it. As expected, there was no one around and she ran in, closing the door firmly behind her. Mathew’s clothes were inside of a bag and the wig was where she had left it the night before.

  The first thing she did was coil her hair and tie it up with bobby pins so that it didn’t fall out. Then she placed the net over her hair before putting on the wig, styling it as natural looking as possible. It framed her face and then she used some light makeup which she had learned to make herself seem more masculine. The clothes went a long way in making her look more like a man and before she knew it, she looked like a guy, albeit a scrawny one. She had to figure out a way to make herself seem sturdier, but that would come with the work. For now, she was going to have fun trying to fit in with everyone at the Simmons ranch and hope that she wouldn’t be found out.

  Finally, half an hour later, she was done and she was off through the side road from which she caught a bus to get as close as she could to town and then walk the rest of the way.

  It was definitely a hard way to get to the ranch, but it was worth it.

  Finally, at nine forty-five, she was at the Simmons ranch. She walked up the pathway and was about to head to the farmhouse when she decided better of it and went towards the stables. She wanted to see the horses and she was sure that Mr. Simmons wasn’t going to be at the farmhouse either. He was surely going to be working.

  She looked around the ranch and noted that it was smaller than her Father’s, which always seemed to center on being as flashy as possible, still she loved her own ranch flashy extravagance or not. She reached the stable entrance and was about to look inside to check on the horses when she saw something that perturbed her. There were two workers who were dangling carrots in front of the horses and making them neigh as much as possible. That wasn’t how it worked. You weren’t supposed to feed horses like that, it made them stressed. What were they doing?

  “Stop that!” she said loudly.

  The men stopped and looked at her. It didn’t matter to her that the men were taller than her and bulkier, she was genuinely angry with the way they were playing with the horses, because she knew how easily horses got agitated. She strode over to them and snatched the carrot from their hands.

  “Can’t you see you’re irritating the horses?” she demanded.

  “What’s it to you?” one of the men said. “They’re just horses.”

  “And is that why you’re working at a ranch? Because they’re just horses?” she said angrily. “If you don’t want to work, you can leave. Stop harming the horses.”

  “You’re one to speak” the man shouted back, “I haven’t seen you around, don’t you think you should keep your mouth shut?” He reached for her collar, dragging her up.

  Though fear rushed through her, she wasn’t going to back down and glared back at the man, throwing off his grip. She wasn’t going to let this man get away with harming the horses and she didn’t care if she was going to be in trouble because of it.

  The men looked like they were going to do something when a voice said,

  “That’s enough!”

  She turned around to see a tall man with familiar features and dark eyes. He had messy hair, but he was as built as someone else she had seen.

  “I saw what you guys were doing. Go to the office, collect whatever pay you have and leave. Don’t come back here again,” the man said with authority.

  The two men glared at her and muttered curses as they left the stables. Cat almost collapsed only now aware of how scared she had actually been. The man came towards her and now that he was closer, he looked a bit like Mark Simmons. Could this be one of the brothers?

  “You’re either brave or foolish,” the man said. “You went against two men who were easily twice your size by bulk alone.”

  “They were playing around with the horses. I couldn’t let that happen,” she said fiercely.

  “At least someone cares. The new workers aren’t very keen on our horses. Irks Mark to no end. I’m Drew, I’d be the second oldest Simmons brother younger than Jaimie, but older than Mark and Pete. You must be the new worker Mark told me about,” Drew said.

  He held his hand for a handshake and she tried to be as firm as possible with it. She was dressed like a guy, so she had to behave as one.

  “You think you can handle working with a cap?” Drew asked, looking at her cap.

  “Keeps my hair in,” Cat said. “I don’t
want it annoying the animals.”

  “That’s one of the few times I have seen someone worry about their hair. Usually workers have shorter hair but seeing your length, I can see why you would be worried,” he said.

  Cat nodded, she had to choose a longer wig because her hair was longer and it was easier to hide it under a longer wig.

  “Looks like Mark has gotten wind of me firing two of his workers. I’m not really allowed to do that, no wonder he looks upset.”

  “Not allowed to…?” Cat didn’t have time to finish her sentence as Mark Simmons strode over to them and as Drew said, he did look mad.

  “Two workers just came to Pete to collect payment for being fired,” Mark seethed. “They said the new guy had done something to irk them.”

  Mark’s green eyes fixed on her and he said, “Did you already cause trouble on your first day?”

  “I did no such thing!” Cat retorted.

  “It was me,” Drew said. “I fired them, because I saw them playing around cruelly with the horses.”

  “Playing around how?” Mark asked.

  “They were luring them with a carrot and antagonizing them,” Cat said. “I saw them and…”

  “And without a regard of his safety went to challenge two bulkier guys,” Drew finished. “You chose a good one to defend the animals.”

  Mark seemed to calm down as Drew explained it and said, “I wish they hadn’t done that. I’m already short on workers as it is but I guess the explanation gives merit to their firing.”

  “Anyway,” Drew said. “I have to go check on a deal about some new horses so I’ll see you around. Good luck on your first day, Caleb.”

  She almost did a double take on her new name but nodded as Drew left. She was expecting to be put to work on the stables but Mark said,