“Come with me.”
He walked off and she followed. As he walked, he said,
“Your pay will be two hundred dollars per week, nine to six work time and one hour free for lunch every day,” Mark said. “You have to be here six days a week, up to you to choose which six days and I expect you to work better than those two who you got fired.”
“Yes sir,” she said stiffly and seething on the inside. The least I deserve is some thanks, she thought but whatever, who cared what he thought. She was happy enough being here to work.
They had reached a small building where she could see many of the workers gathered around.
“George!” Mark called out.
A man detached himself from a group and came over to them, looking at Cat with interest.
“This is the new worker?” the man said.
“Yes,” Mark replied. “This is George, he is your foreman. He’ll be helping you adjust this week and after this week you’ll be on your own.”
“I understand,” she said.
“I think you should get him started with the sheep,” Mark said. “Show him how to take the sheep and how to handle their feeding times.”
“The sheep?” Cat said, confused. “I thought I was going to start with the stables. I remember telling you that my specialty was with horses.”
“Yes, but in my farm, I like all my workers to be adept with all the animals so that when we’re short staffed, they can handle themselves and the animals. That’s how they work so you’ll have to learn as well,” Mark said and then walked away.
Cat looked at him aghast and George laughed. Now that she got a good look at him, she could see that he had a shorn head with a beard and a friendly appearance.
“Mr. Simmons is like that to newcomers, he gets loose as you get more accustomed with the ranch. He doesn’t like trusting newcomers.”
“I got that part,” she grumbled under her breath.
“Trust me; you’ll be happier working with all of the animals. Gives a lot of experience and who knows, maybe you can become one of the better employees. They treat the good ones well,” George said. “I know, I’ve been working here a while.”
“Thanks, I guess.”
“Let’s go over to the pen and try to keep up because they have a lot of sheep.”
She didn’t doubt it when she saw the size of the pen and the sheep wandering about. She was introduced to the other workers and given into the hands of Brad who had handled the sheep before and would teach her to do so as well. Brad seemed nice enough as he helped her understand how to feed the sheep. She was also shown the different pens for the ewes and sheep, as well as, the smaller lambs.
“It’s not breeding season yet so they have to be kept separate,” he said. “Besides we have to wait for the young ones to grow before we start getting them together.”
“I understand,” Cat said, finding herself rather interested.
Even though she had spent the first hour cursing Mark Simmons, she was now enjoying this and realizing how lacking she had been in her knowledge. Their ranch had always been horse and cattle oriented. Her dad didn’t like keeping sheep, because it didn’t have much profit according to him but here they had sheep, cattle and horses. It was smaller but more diverse and she tried to absorb all the information.
Yet she still managed to make a mistake when she left the youngsters pen open and let them spread around. Brad had only laughed and helped her gather them back up, but she had sensed Mark’s presence nearby looking at her with rigid eyes.
One day, she thought, I’m going to make sure he sees me succeed. It was only the first day and he was already making her angry.
She didn’t meet any of the other brothers during her first day, but she was so occupied with work, she wouldn’t have noticed them anyway.
Regardless, by the time it was six, she was aching all over, but had managed to make some friends who had taken her to go eat lunch in town. She had figured out that it was a ritual for some of the workers to go together and that being invited by one of them was a good thing, because that meant they were comfortable enough with her. She wasn’t going to get close to them, but she wasn’t going to shun them either. She had to be, as natural as, possible so she went along with it.
On the bus, she leaned against the window and smiled. It had been a great day after all.
Chapter Five
“And then I helped clean the ewes. Their wool is so soft!” Cat said excitedly.
“I see,” Mathew said smiling. “Looks like you’re really enjoying your work there.”
“It’s only been one day,” Cat said. “I still have many more to go.”
“What about your bosses?”
“I met two,” she said. “Mark and Drew Simmons. Drew seems cool, but Mark rubs me the wrong way. He is always so serious and all, I don’t like it. It annoys me and puts me in a bad mood.”
“Really?” he said.
“Yeah, he didn’t even believe me when I told him about those two workers harassing the horse. Can you believe what they were doing?”
“It happens,” he said. “I had to fire some workers, because of behavior like that.”
“Anyway, good thing they’re gone.”
“Should you have gone and confronted them like that?” he said. “Aren’t they going to do anything?”
“They’re gone and it doesn’t matter. I’m not a child,” she said. “I can take care of myself.”
“Right,” he said. He was about to say something else when their father came in. Her father looked tired and he sat down with a smile for both of them.
“How are you two today?” Mr. Hamilton said.
“I’m good but tired,” Cat said. “I am going to turn in.”
“Pottery class is tiring?” Mr. Hamilton said, his dark eyebrow rising as if he couldn’t believe it.
“Yes, it is. A lot of working on the arms and hands,” she said. “It happens.”
“Maybe we are going to see some of your artwork around the house,” he said.
“Maybe, if I can do well in it,” she said, thinking that she was already digging herself into a hole.
As she walked out and she couldn’t help, but look forward to work the next day.
***
She wasn’t that happy the next day as she was cleaning up after the cattle.
To her horror, Mark had changed her from sheep to the cattle, because Brad had reported that she was working too well with the sheep. She had been put in charge of the cattle with Harry who wasn’t nearly as friendly as the bulky, blond haired Brad. He was sullen and quiet, leaving her to fend for herself as she tried in vain to make sure that the cattle grazed and ate the food that was given to them.
At least she had some prior knowledge of cattle, but she still had a hard time working with them which didn’t help the next three days as she was put to work with them more and more often. She was starting to think that Mark was trying to punish her or something, but she wasn’t going to complain about it. By then she had gotten into the routine of working with them and also keeping up appearances. She didn’t get too close with the other workers, maintaining a distance and as she had feared at first, her wig didn’t give her too much trouble because of the cap she had on. It did get hard to breath with the wrapping around her chest, but she was learning to deal with that as well.
She saw Lana a couple of times and she met the third brother as well, Pete, who Lana always came to see. It was quite obvious that the two were dating from the moony looks and the hugs in full sight of the workers. It was also flattering to see how close the brothers were with all their workers, except the new ones. No one had anything to say about the brothers especially not in a negative light. She had yet to see the oldest Simmons brother, but the workers said that he was always in town. Maybe that was the brother that her father had been worried about.
Either way, she tried her best to work and although she was sore, she enjoyed the work thoroughly and it made her happy
. She was doing something out of her monotonous routine and without being judged for it. But it did make her wonder if they would have hired her if she was a girl.
Regardless, she was just waiting for the day when they would let her work with the horses.
The day finally came, one and a half weeks after her first day of employment. She had chosen Saturday as the day when she would have her day off, which worked out as it was the routine dinner time with her family. Now that she was one week in and two hundred dollars richer, she was quite comfortable around the ranch.
“Morning George,” she said as she strode in. One week had been enough for her to get the hang of things and how everyone around her was working with her.
“Morning Caleb,” he said.
“I’m going to go check on the cattle now,” she said.
“You don’t need to. Mr. Simmons said that you’re to work with the horses today. He seemed mighty happy about the way you handled the sheep and cattle, so I reckon he thinks that you’re good enough for the horses now.”
“Great,” she said with bright eyes. She couldn’t wait to go see how the horses would fare with her and as she walked over to the stables, her excitement increased. This was her chance; she was going to get the chance to have fun with the horses.
There were workers around and when they saw her, the referred her to Alex who was in charge of the horses. Alex was bulky and tall with pointed eyebrows and a stern smile.
“You’re the newcomer, right?” he said.
She nodded and he said, “I don’t know how you’re going to handle the horses with those scrawny arms of yours, but you better get to work if you know what’s best for you.”
She nodded once again and then waited for him to say what she had to do first.
“Clean up the stables and then lead the horses out into the corral.”
Cat got to cleaning with enthusiasm, thinking joyfully of when she was going to be able to take the horses out and then maybe ride them around. It was going to be awesome. After she was done with the cleaning, she helped take out the horses. Alex talked about each horse in detail.
“This one is a new one, a thoroughbred that we just picked up a month ago. He’s fierce and we haven’t been able to make sure he’s in shape yet. Don’t try anything funny with him,” Alex warned.
Cat looked at the dark horse with compassionate eyes, even though she could sense the spite from the large stallion.
“I think I am going to call you Malice,” she whispered as she groomed the horse. Malice apparently didn’t like that, because before Cat knew it, she was suddenly flying backwards, the wind knocked out of her. She groaned as she fell down, hardly aware that there were shouts around her, such was the ringing in her ears. She shook her head dizzily before her vision focused to see Alex’s stern face replaced by worry.
“You okay newbie?” he said.
She nodded before asking, “What happened?”
“I told you that the new horse was still…”
“What’s going on here?” Another voice shouted out.
She looked sideways to see Mark with Lana and Pete walking towards her. Great, he just had to be there to see me get beaten up by a horse.
“What the hell did you do to new horse?” Mark demanded. “Did you hit him or something?”
Cat wanted to shout back that she didn’t but she knew she couldn’t talk back to her employer. That was the sure-fire way for her to get fired. Instead, she kept her mouth shut as Alex said,
“It wasn’t his fault boss. The horse just hasn’t adjusted yet, we’re lucky newbie here isn’t on his way to the hospital right now.”
“Are you hurt?” Lana was asking. “That was a nasty fall.”
“I’m fine,” she said but winced as she straightened. To her astonishment, when she looked at her right arm, she had blood smeared on it.
“You must have scraped it on the ground,” said Alex.
“We have to get that treated.” Lana said with worry.
“There’s first aid in the meeting shed,” Pete said.
One of the workers volunteered to get it and Lana knelt in front of Cat.
“I’ll dress it for you,” she said. “I know enough.”
“I’m really fine,” Cat said. “I don’t need anyone fussing over me.”
“Don’t give that much attention to a worker,” Mark said. “It’s not needed.”
Cat resisted the urge to scowl at him and Pete said,
“Calm down Mark, stop being so difficult all the time.”
Mark didn’t say anything and walked away, leaving Pete to kneel down beside Cat.
“Everyone else go back to work.”
The three were left alone and helped Cat stand up.
“Sit down,” Pete said. “We aren’t slave drivers. Get the wound wrapped up and go home for today. No point in forcing someone to work when they’ve been kicked by a horse.”
“It doesn’t hurt that much,” she protested even as it throbbed.
“You can’t fool me,” Pete said. “That wasn’t an easy fall and you don’t have to man up, because of it.”
“I wonder why Mark is so rough today,” Lana said. “Usually he’s the calm one.”
“Mark has a problem,” Pete said as the worker returned with the first aid.
Cat rolled up her sleeve as Lana began to clean the wound for her, wincing as she did so.
“He gets really serious about the animals and his workers,” Pete said. “He’s always been like that. Work gets him on edge.”
Though Cat still hated his guts, it gave her a better understanding of Mark, though not enough for her to forgive him. He was still annoying and she was going to avoid him at all costs. Lana dressed her wound and she stood up, ready to leave.
“I’ll come back tomorrow and I’ll do a better job with the horses,” she said.
Pete nodded and smiled. She strode off and Cat couldn’t help but be angry that it was on her record now that she had messed up like this. She cursed herself and began the weary journey back home.
***
“How the hell did that happen?”
Mathew’s voice only served to make her sad about her arm and the incident. She was curled up on her bed, her injured arm splayed out when Mathew came into her room, not knocking for the first time. After she had gotten rid of the disguise, she had gotten a look at the gash on her arm and that horse had really done a number on her. She didn’t feel the pain now that she had taken a painkiller, but she was sure that it would have hurt more if she hadn’t, so she was grateful. Maybe she had been lucky after all. That didn’t stop her from feeling pathetic and frustrated.
Mathew’s reaction only made it worse.
“I hurt myself at work,” she said listlessly.
“But how?”
In a monotone voice, she explained what had happened and then collapsed back into her silence. He didn’t say anything at first.
“So, they gave you the day off?”
“Pete Simmons did. Mark Simmons looked like he was going to make sure I worked, until I collapsed.”
“Seems like a rough guy.”
“Rough or not, he’s annoying and belligerent and an all-assuming ass-,” she said.
“Does it hurt?” Matthew said, effectively cutting her off.
“My pride hurts more,” she said. “I thought I was good at taking care of horses, but this one took me by surprise immediately.”
“Horses aren’t the same. Certain horses have hairpin triggers,” he said. “Did you say anything to the horse?”
“I might have named it Malice.”
“That’s not a good thing and you know it,” he said with a sigh. “You know horses can be sensitive to names, especially a name like that.”
“Fine, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do it,” she said. “I didn’t think it was going to be a big deal.”
“It definitely was. Just don’t do anything like that again.”
“Fine, now can you go? I’m
the older sister here,” she said, lighter.
He chuckled. “It’s time for dinner.”
“I’ll be there.”
And Cat sighed once again, thinking that maybe everything wasn’t going to be as colorful as she had originally thought it would be.
Chapter Six
“A pottery accident?” Mr. Hamilton repeated.
She nodded. “The pot broke and scratched me.”
“Either way, be more careful.”
They were at breakfast and she was looking impatiently at the watch. She had to set out soon if she was to reach work in time, but her father was lingering too much, he wasn’t leaving yet and she was at the end of her patience. It hadn’t helped that she had accidentally flashed him her bandage. She had replaced it from the tight wrap that Lana had done and now it was just a long strip of plaster on her arm.
“I’ll be off then,” her father said and he walked off, much to Cat’s relief.
Mathew and she exchanged looks and then she ran out the back door to reach the shed in time. She had to take her time because it was hard with the throbbing of her hand but it wasn’t unmanageable. Either way, soon she was on her way to the Simmons ranch so that she could get to work.
“So, you’re alive,” was Alex’s greeting as she walked into the stables.
“Of course, I am,” she said, the masculine tone having come naturally to her now. “I wasn’t dying yesterday you know.”
“Normally workers are happy to get a free day,” Alex said. “Clearly not you.”
“Nope,” she said. “What do I have to do?”
“Clean up the stables and we’ll lead the horses out. And this time try not to get on the horse’s bad side.”
“Got it.”
She was ultra-careful this time around, staying far away from Malice, who glared at her from his stable. She didn’t want to go anywhere near the horse and she continued to work steadily until it was time for lunch.
“Hey it’s Missus from the farm house,” one of the workers said.
Cat looked round to see Lana coming towards the stables, a basket in her hand. She was confused until she saw Lana wave at her.
“Can we have a walk? Or are you working?” Lana asked.
Simmons Brothers Series: Boxed Set Page 11
