Stepbrother Bastard (12 page)

A
flash of bright red catches my eye up by the house. As I turn to get a closer
look, my eyes land squarely on the fine, perfectly balanced form that
’
s
occupied my every waking daydream these past few days
—
that
of Cash Hawthorne, of course. And a
shirtless
Cash Hawthorne,
nonetheless.

His
defined pecs and gloriously cut abs are getting tanner by the day, here by the
lake. He
’
s
got one end of a red kayak balanced on his shoulder, holding it up effortlessly
with his thick, powerful arms. His long dark curls are pushed back from his
sculpted face, and his light blue jeans are riding low on the muscular
“
V
”
of his hips. So entranced am I by the sight of my tatted up, scruffy paramour
that I barely notice Luke holding up the other end of the kayak. When it comes
to the Hawthorne brothers, I can
’
t
help playing favorites.

“
Jesus
Christ,
”
Cash crows, trundling
toward us with the kayak in tow.
“
I
should have worn some shades down here
—
that
pale ass skin of yours is gonna make me go blind.
”

“
Ha,
ha,
”
Sophie replies, tossing
her long braid over her shoulder,
“
Just
wait until you
’
re an old, sunbaked, wrinkly dude at
the age of thirty, and then we
’
ll see who
’
s
laughing.
”

“
He
’
s
already a grumpy old asshole on the inside,
”
Luke puts in as the guys
lower the kayak onto the dock,
“
I
’
m
sure the outside will match before long.
”

Sophie
zips her lips the second Luke jumps into the conversation, turning back toward
the lake. What the hell is the deal with these two? Luke must have seen her
pull a
Girls Gone Wild
at a college party or
something, for all the tension that seems to hang between them. Hell, maybe
there was even some kind of ill-advised hookup back at Sheridan. That would
certainly explain things. Though the chances of two Porter-Hawthorne hookups
—
make
that
three
, including our parents
—
seem
pretty slim.

“
You
got the keys to the truck?
”
Cash asks Luke, brushing off his hands.

“
What
do you need it for?
”
Luke replies, handing Cash a set of keys
to the ancient black pickup truck that lives on the property.

“
Need
some more smokes,
”
Cash says, laughing at the grimace that
crosses Luke
’
s face.
“
Sack
up, man. It
’
s not meth.
”

“
Oh,
right. I forgot that lung cancer is real fucking manly,
”
Luke shoots back.
“
Forget
sacking up
—
when are you gonna try
growing
up, Cash?
”

“
What
would I do that for?
”
Cash shrugs,
“
You
’
re
already playing man of the house around here, isn
’
t
that right little brother?
”

“
I
’
m
not
playing
at anything, you fucker,
”
Luke snaps back, squaring
off against Cash,
“
All I
’
m
doing is picking up your slack.
”

“
What
a good little boy,
”
Cash grins, punching Luke in the shoulder
—
just
hard enough for it not to be a joke.

“
Don
’
t
touch me, asshole,
”
Luke spits, his hands balling into fists.

“
Come
on, lil
’
guy,
”
Cash eggs Luke on, giving
him a firm shove,
“
You still afraid to take
on your big, bad brother?
”

Sophie
and I exchange nervous glances as Luke
’
s
eyes flare with anger.

“
I
’
ve
always preferred fair fights, Cash.
Clean
fights,
”
Luke shoots back at his
brother,
“
Not exactly your specialty.
”

I
watch Cash
’
s jaw pulse with rage as Luke
’
s
barb catches him. It
’
s the same look that came
over John yesterday, while he and Cash were on the verge of fighting. For all
their differences, it looks like there
’
s
one thing Cash inherited from his father
—
a
willingness to fight, and fight
hard
. Though maybe this wasn
’
t
so much inherited as beaten into him. My heart aches, just thinking about what
might have befallen these boys when they were small.

“
Guys,
come on. Chill out
…”
I say, rising to my feet as the Hawthorne
brothers face off on the dock.

“
Seriously,
you
’
re
being idiots,
”
Sophie
adds, hurrying to stand beside me.

“
You
girls just aren
’
t used to the way guys
settle things,
”
Cash
smiles coldly, his eyes fixed hard on Luke.

“
The
way
some
guys settle things,
”
Luke corrects him,
lifting his chin defiantly,
“
No matter the
consequences. Right, Cash?
”

All
at once, the playfulness goes out of Cash
’
s
eyes. His gaze becomes steely, that sharp jaw pulsing even harder with raw
anger.

“
Cash
…”
I say warily, taking a
step toward them,
“
Could you please just
drop this? You
’
re freaking me out.
”

“
Yeah
Luke,
”
Sophie adds, joining me
as I inch forward to diffuse the brewing fist fight,
“
This
is nuts. You guys are brothers.
”

“
In
name, maybe,
”
Luke
growls, looking at Cash with pure contempt,
“
But
thankfully, that
’
s all.
”

“
That
’
s
the good ol
’
Hawthorne name for you,
”
Cash grins, pulling
himself back from the brink of losing it, with nothing short of Herculean
effort,
“
It
’
ll
stick to you like a motherfucker, even if it doesn
’
t
mean shit.
”

Luke
turns away from Cash, looking for the world like his brother
’
s
just spat in his face. There
’
s a bad streak in the
blood these brothers share
—
and I
’
m
starting to get the feeling that it runs very, very deep.

“
Well,
”
Cash goes on, his ripped
body still humming in the wake of the barely-avoided brawl,
“
I
’
m
off. You wanna ride with?
”

My
heart thrills for just a second at his offer
…
until
I see that I
’
m not the one he
’
s
extended it to. Instead, his eyes are fixed on Sophie, who looks just as
surprised as I feel
—
though not as gutted, I
’
m
sure.

“
Oh.
Uh
…
OK,
”
she says uncertainly, her
eyes darting first toward Luke, then toward me.
“
Yeah,
why not. I haven
’
t really seen much of the
town here.
”

“
Great,
”
Cash replies, nodding at
the truck waiting in the long driveway,
“
Though
fair warning, there
’
s not much of a town to
see. It
’
s
kind of a shit hole, to be honest.
”

“
Well,
now I
have
to see it,
”
Sophie laughs, following Cash up the dock.

I
stand on the gently swaying boards, watching the two of them walking away
together. It
’
s a perfectly innocuous outing, not
the least bit charged
—
so then why do I feel
like I
’
ve
been slapped in the face?

“
I
didn
’
t
know those two, uh, got along so well
…”
I say to Luke, my voice
hollow.

“
Mhm,
”
he grunts back, his jaw
clamped shut. He stares as Cash leads Sophie to the pickup, and tries in vain
not to look furious. He doesn
’
t seem too thrilled about
their little adventure, either.

“
But
you
and Sophie,
”
I bait him, taking full advantage of his
distracted state,
“
You two already have a
history
…”

“
What?
”
he snaps, whipping around
to face me.

“
You
know each other from school, I mean,
”
I go on. Looks like I
’
ve
hit a nerve, here. And not a very concealed one, either.

“
Right,
”
Luke replies, shoving his
hands into the pockets of his jeans.

He
’
s
gone shirtless this afternoon, as well. His body is just as sculpted as Cash
’
s,
though without the ink and occasional scar. But whereas Cash
’
s
body seems to have been built up from combat, boxing, and MMA brawls, Luke
’
s
is more finely honed. He
’
s an athlete and a Crossfit
buff, I
’
ve
learned. A star runner for the Sheridan track team, when he was an undergrad.
In fact, that
’
s how he earned his scholarship
there. When my artsy sister would have ever been in the same room as a jock is
beyond me, though
…

“
How
did you guys meet? At school?
”
I decide to press him, sitting back down
at the edge of the dock.

“
She
never mentioned?
”
he asks, moving to stand beside me. I
sense a note of disappointment in his voice.

“
Nope.
We don
’
t
really talk much, on a regular basis,
”
I inform him, letting my
feet dangle into the water.

“
Huh,
”
he says, crossing his
arms.

“
So,
do you guys have mutual friends, or
…
?
”
I prod.

“
Actually,
”
he says, looking down at
me,
“
I
was her teacher. Well, TA.
”

My
jaw falls open as I absorb this information.
“
You
were her teacher
’
s assistant?
”
I ask him, agog.

“
That
’
s
right,
”
he replies.
“
Don
’
t
look so shocked. Not all the Hawthorne men are hulked-out neanderthals like my
dear big brother.
”