Simmons Brothers Series: Boxed Set

by Danielle Gray

  There was a knock on the door and then Mark came in, smiling at her as he lay down beside her.

  “How do you feel now?” He asked.

  “Sad, tired,” she said. “I can’t believe my dad didn’t even call.”

  “I’m sure he’ll come around,” Mark said pressing a comforting kiss to her pouty lips.

  “I hope so,” Cat replied. “Can I start working on the ranch, again, tomorrow?”

  “Of course, I need another good worker, especially after losing Caleb,” Mark teased, running his hands through her hair.

  “It’ll distract me and don’t worry, I’ll move out soon,” she said.

  “Take your time,” he said. “There’s no pressure.”

  “Thank you,” she said, burying her face in his chest. When he tipped her face up for a kiss, she returned that hard jolt of passion, easily fanning it into a flame of heat and need. Together, Mark and Cat lost themselves in the need that burned through them, building up to a crescendo of release that helped them both relax. She’d never before known that sex could be used to soothe as much as to excite. She’d never look the same at intimacy again.

  Worn out from leaving her home and well-loved, Cat settled down next to Mark, snuggling close to the comfort of his body. She took even more comfort in the way that Mark ran his hand through her hair, soothing away her pain so she could fall easily, dreamlessly into sleep.

  ***

  The next day, she was dressed in her boots and shirt so that she could get to work.

  “The stables?” he asked.

  She nodded and walked over with him, accidentally almost greeting everyone by name. No one knew that she was Caleb Hunter and it was better to let that remain a mystery.

  “She’ll be working with you guys,” Mark announced.

  “I don’t mean any offense boss, but can she handle it?” Alex asked.

  “I’ll be fine,” Cat said smiling, her confidence slowly returning.

  Alex nodded looking doubtful, but she was back in her element and he was impressed by the end of the first two hours at how easily she handled everything.

  “It’s almost as if you have worked here before,” he said as she led out the horses. Cat coughed to hide her embarrassment at how close he had gotten to the truth. The work helped and by the end of the day, she was feeling relaxed.

  Over the few days that followed, she got familiar with all the workers, this time as Catherine. No one had been rude but had expressed their disbelief at a woman working, until she had proven that she could and would do the work the job required.

  “I told you that you should have just come as a woman,” Mark said as they shared sandwiches on the grass close to the house.

  “You were right,” she laughed.

  “You laughed,” he said. “It’s good to see you happy again.”

  “I feel better now. I can’t say I’m happy with my father at the moment.” She said. “But maybe someday soon, dad will come around.”

  They spent some more time outside and headed back to the stables where a surprise waited for them. Mr. Hamilton was standing there, looking grave and his eyes filled with tears when he saw Cat.

  “Dad, you’re here,” Cat said dumbfounded.

  “I am,” Mr. Hamilton said. “I came to see you. I was wrong, Catherine and you were right, I was only doing what made me happy. I ignored what you wanted, convinced that you didn’t have a clue as to what you wanted in life.”

  “Dad…”

  “Come back to the house. You can take over the ranch and I’ll teach you everything about it. I had a talk with Mathew and he is going to attend business school so that he can go on with his own studies. Can you forgive this foolish old man?”

  “Of course,” she said and hugged her father, tears spilling down her cheeks.

  Mark could only smile at the father daughter reunion, looking up to see the blue sky which reminded him of hope and a new beginning.

  ***

  “You never give me time,” Mark pouted.

  “I’m giving you time now, right?” Cat said.

  “But it’s been so long since we spent time together,” Mark said.

  “It’s only been two days,” Cat said, shaking her head, a rueful smile on her lips.

  “That’s long enough.”

  The two were walking on the ranch, the afternoon sun showering them with warm light. It was two weeks after Cat and her father made up and she had been busy at work understanding her own ranch. Because it was bigger than the Simmons ranch, she had a bit of trouble at first, but she was a quick learner and she was well on her way to handle it alone. Her father was increasingly becoming busy with the council and Mathew had already started preparing for his studies.

  “Your dad is apparently fitting well into the office,” Mark said.

  “Yeah, he loves it though he says that he doesn’t like all the attention,” said Cat.

  “Jaime mentioned that. Apparently, some reporter wants to come interview your dad about the whole thing,” said Mark.

  “Dad isn’t happy about it.”

  “Neither is Jaime, apparently the reporter was very persistent. Well whether he likes it or not, he is going to have to deal with it.”

  “It’s going to be a busy couple of weeks.”

  “As long as you are not too busy for me,” Mark said.

  “Never,” she said with conviction, laughing as he picked her up to swing her around.

  The smile spread and she felt herself fill with joy as she finally reveled in having achieved everything she could ever have wanted.

  The End.

  Jamie

  A Simmons Brothers Story

  by Danielle Gray

  Jamie

  This publication is part of a series of products and publications. For more information, p

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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.

  Cover art: Cover art: Sabrina Ihadadene

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

  Chapter One

  Lana yawned as she walked into the kitchen. She had clearly overslept seeing as the clock indicated that it was past ten. She would have felt guilty if she didn’t remember hearing Pete whisper to her to remain sleeping at what she assumed to be eight in the morning. Now it was past ten and she was feeling a bit lazy. Lana ran her fingers through her messed up hair and looked around. There was a pot of coffee ready for her, warm to the touch and a half-opened newspaper on the table. Everything else had been washed.

  She poured a cup of coffee for herself and sat down, opening the newspaper and scanning the headlines. There was nothing of interest and she laid down the newspaper, staring into space as she sipped her coffee. She was trying to think if she had anything to do that day. She didn’t have any art class, her classes had e
nded a week ago and there were groceries in the fridge, so she didn’t’ have to go shopping. She missed her classes, but after a while she had started to get bored and stressed. It was her ability to quickly catch onto everything that had ultimately acted as a deterrent for her. She was forced to downplay everything which seriously limited her creativity, but Lana didn’t let that get to her.

  Still, she had continued to work and finally she’d gotten the certificate that enabled her to boast that she was somewhat of a learned painter now. Pete had been adorably happy about it, framing it in his bedroom so that she could see it all the time. He had even gone out to buy her some things so that she could continue to study on her own. She hadn’t started working on it yet, but she decided that she was going to do it today.

  After she was done with her coffee, she headed over to make some breakfast for her, humming to herself as she fried her eggs. She was busy thinking about what she was going to cook for lunch as she ate. She decided to do some prep so that the only thing she had to do later was cook it. She was busy with the prep when there was a knock on the door.

  Instantly she knew it wasn’t one of the boys, because they never knocked so she washed her hands and went to open it. The mailman stood on the other side and she took the mail, signing for them. She looked through the names on the envelopes, mostly it was bills, but there was one for Jamie that looked personal.

  The logical thing was to leave it but she had explicit permission from Jamie to go through his mail because he was usually so busy that he never opened mail. That had ended up in a couple of issues that she preferred not to remember. So she ripped open the envelope and read through it.

  Dear Mr. Simmons,

  This is to inform you that our newspaper, Daily News, has sent over our reporter, Mr. Harold, to interview the newly elected councilman for your council. We hope that you will be kind enough to take care of our reporter and show the reporter around as the task is completed. The contact details have been provided.

  Thank you,

  Joseph Miller,

  Editor-in-chief, Daily News.

  Seems pretty important, Lana thought. I better tell him about it later.

  Thinking that she put down the envelope and went back to humming for her work. She had no idea when Jamie would turn up but everything would be fine as long she didn’t forget.

  “Cornbread!” Drew exclaimed with unbridled glee as he reached for it.

  Lana could only laugh as she handed him the plate filled with the cornbread. He snatched two and stuffed one in his mouth as Mark snickered beside him. Lana noted with a smile that Mark had become more expressive lately, probably due to his relationship with Cat. Cat sometimes came to eat with them but her appearances in the house had become rare of late. She knew that Cat came around often, but was becoming busy now that she was fully taking over her dad’s ranch.

  The story of how Cat had infiltrated into their ranch and been Caleb was something only the direct members of the family were aware of, including her. She couldn’t believe it at first but it did make sense after she mulled over it. Caleb had always seemed very femininely handsome to her and Cat had pulled it off to perfection so props to her. Lana found that she liked the female counterpart just as much and the two had become fast friends after interacting with each other a couple of times.

  Pete poked her and she awoke from her reverie and smiled at him. He smiled back and continued to eat. The smile made her remember something important that she had forgotten. She looked over at Jamie and said,

  “You had a letter today.”

  “What letter?” Jamie said, roused from his thoughts. Looking at him, she could tell that he was tired and she didn’t doubt the reason why. Jamie had increasingly become more involved with the council as the days went on to the point where he came home late at night.

  She had thought once or twice about saying something to him about it, but he seemed to be unapproachable about it. She had talked to Pete about it, but Pete had said that it was up to Jamie and that she could talk to him if she wanted to. It hadn’t been much help, but it had put her at ease.

  “A letter about a reporter,” Lana said.

  “Where is it?” Jamie asked sharply.

  “I put it over there,” She said pointing at the counter.

  He got up and walked over to take the letter, scanning the insides before sighing. The sigh had become much more common to her and indicated that he wasn’t happy about something.

  “Something wrong?” Mark asked.

  “Nothing I can’t handle.” Jamie said cryptically.

  “Is this about the reporter?” Lana blurted.

  “Somewhat,” Jamie replied. “I am getting tired of the bureaucracy.”

  “You can always leave,” Pete said. “You don’t have to stay on with the council.”

  “I know that, but it’s like I can’t leave,” Jamie said and took a deep breath. “How do I explain it?”

  “You don’t have to explain anything to anyone,” Drew said. “Do what you think is best.”

  “Thanks,” Jamie said. “I should go tell them about this reporter.”

  “Aren’t you going to finish eating?” Lana asked.

  “I’ve had my fill,” Jamie said smiling. “Thanks, Lana.”

  He walked out leaving her puzzled, but Pete rubbed her leg, reassuring her.

  “I’m worried about him,” Lana admitted. “From the way he is always at the council office, you would think that he was the new councilman.”

  “Jamie likes working for them,” Mark said. “Or at least he used to.”

  “I don’t know why he persists in working so hard.”

  “It’s Jamie, he was born to work,” Pete said. “He’ll tell us if he has any trouble. We should trust him.”

  But Lana, as she stared at the door, couldn’t quite quell the disquiet in her heart.

  ***

  Jamie sighed as he got into the truck. Usually he would take his smaller car, but he had forgotten to take the key with him when he had left the house and he didn’t want to go back inside to grab it. He was sure that Lana had seen through him, that she was right now suspecting that something was not quite right. He had figured out a lot about Lana in the time she had been living with them and he knew she was perceptive.

  Jamie sighed as he placed his hand against the steering wheel of the truck. This really was getting out of hand, if it wasn’t for his promise, he would have left a long time ago. Regardless, he started the truck and continued on his way towards town. Hopefully, this reporter wasn’t going to come in and stir things up that shouldn’t be stirred.

  He was preoccupied with his thoughts as he reached the council office. It was a humble place, a two-story building painted white with a marbled path surrounded by fresh plants. He got out of his truck and walked inside.

  “Good afternoon Mr. Simmons,” said Destine, presiding over the desk. She was the secretary for the council office. Seeing as it was such a small office, she was put in charge of all the councilmen and their affairs. She was a pleasant looking, middle-aged woman with dark hair and bright eyes.

  “Hello Destine,” Jamie said, smiling slightly. “Anything happened while I wasn’t here?”

  “Nothing particularly,” she said. “Was there something you expected?”

  Jamie hesitated and then shook his head. “I just came to check up.”

  “The amount of times you’re here,” she said. “You may as well be the secretary.”

  “I’ll consider that when the ranch fails,” Jamie said with a smile.

  “Councilman Hamilton is in, if you want to see him.”

  “I’ll do that.”

  Jamie walked towards the Councilman’s office and knocked before he entered. Councilman Hamilton was busy on the phone, but waved him down as he talked. Jamie settled into one of the chairs and looked around. Councilman Hamilton had made himself at home; the remnants of the last councilman were all but gone. There was a frame with the images of himself an
d his two children, as well as, a separate frame for his wife. Jamie could easily recognize Cat in the image, she was grinning widely. Cat was a pleasure to interact with and he liked her dedication to the art of ranching. He was glad that Mark had found someone that he could be happy with, Mark had always been too silent about everything and this was a good change for him.

  “What’s wrong?” Councilman Hamilton said, finally off his phone.

  “Nothing is really wrong,” he said. “I was just here to check up on you.”

  “Nothing to check up on,” Council Hamilton said with a smile. “I’m adjusting well, as you can see.”

  “I can see that,” he said. “I also came to tell you about the reporter who will soon be among us.”

  “The reporter?” The councilman asked.

  “I think I mentioned it before,” Jamie said. “A reporter is interested in writing an article on you and your journey to become a councilman.”

  “Sounds intriguing,” he said. “I didn’t think that being a councilman would bring that much exposure.”

  That’s a lie, thought Jamie. You did it, because you wanted all that exposure.

  But he didn’t voice his thoughts and settled on a sardonic smile. Councilman Hamilton was oblivious to his thoughts and Jamie looked down once more at the letter in his lap, wondering exactly what this reporter was going to bring to their table.

  Hopefully it would be something that wouldn’t bring up the skeletons so carefully hidden in this council house.

  Chapter Two

  Gabrielle Montague could happily have strangled Joe if he had the misfortune of being in front of her. She glared at the patch of hay on the back of the truck and continued to curse under her breath as it shuddered on its way to her destination.