Stepbrother Bastard (9 page)

I
let the kitchen knife go clattering to the floor, looking up at her with
startled eyes.

“
Oh.
I don
’
t.
I mean
—”
I stammer,
“
I
don
’
t
really know where they are
…”

“
I
think they
’
re down by the lake,
”
Anna replies, dropping a
dozen golden dinner rolls into a basket.

“
What,
do you need a chaperone to face the big bad boys?
”
Sophie teases me, sipping
a glass of Merlot at the table,
“
Come
on. I
’
ll
go with you.
”

I
give in and trail Sophie out the door. I may as well accept the fact that this
week is going to be awkward as hell. No use fighting it.

“
I
still haven't met the younger guys,
”
Sophie says over her
shoulder, traipsing down toward the dock in her bare feet.
“
They
’
ve
been making themselves pretty damn scarce. Not that I have high hopes, having
met Cash.
”

“
Yeah,
”
I laugh nervously,
crossing my arms,
“
He seems like kind of a
dick, right?
”

“
Total
dick. Pretty hot though,
”
she replies casually.

“
S-sorry?
”
I sputter.

“
What?
He
is
,
”
she
replies,
“
Did you see those tattoos? And that
hair? God lord. It
’
s like if Jon Snow and
Thor had a super sexy, tatted-up love child. Not sure how that would work
biologically, but
—”

“
I
mean, yeah, he
’
s pretty attractive
…”
I allow,
“
But
I mean, he
’
s kind of off-limits, right? All the
boys are. What with Mom and John
’
s
history and everything?
”

“
Whoa,
whoa
. I wasn
’
t planning on jumping him
or anything, Maddie,
”
Sophie laughs,
“
Unless
you think he
’
d be into it, that is.
”

I
bite my tongue, feeling my heart clench painfully in my chest. There
’
s
no denying that Sophie is the real beauty of the family. With her long, wavy
hair, big blue eyes, and slender, graceful frame, she
’
s
every bit the conventional knockout. When we were in high school together, I
had fellow senior guys asking me to set them up with Sophie, then a freshman.
She
’
s
never given her beauty a second thought, or made me feel inferior on purpose,
but she
’
s
also never failed to get any guy she wanted. So if she turns her sights on Cash
…

“
Christ,
Maddie. I
’
m kidding,
”
Sophie goes on, as we draw
up before the dock.

“
Oh.
Right,
”
I reply flatly.
“
I
knew that.
”

“
We
need to get you drunk ASAP tonight,
”
Sophie laughs,
“
The
rat race is turning you into something of a downer, my dear.
”

I
put on my best attempt at a casual expression and follow Sophie toward the end
of the platform, where a broad shouldered young man I have yet to meet stands
looking out across the lake. This must be another of the guys we
’
re
supposed to be rounding up, though the other two Hawthorne brothers are nowhere
to be seen.

“
Hey
there,
”
Sophie calls to him.

But
he doesn
’
t
acknowledge the greeting.

“
Maybe
he didn
’
t
hear you?
”
I
whisper, stopping short.

Sophie
narrows her eyes at the built young man standing before us and marches on
ahead.
“
Hey,
”
she says, tapping the guy
on his cut shoulder,
“
What
’
s
up?
”

He
shrugs off her hand and raises it in a gesture that clearly says,
“
Shut
up.
”
Sophie
’
s
face goes red with embarrassment and anger, but it soon becomes clear what he
’
s
focusing so intently on instead of her.

Straight
ahead of us, two svelte bodies churn and chop the water as they race to the
dock. Powerful, precise limbs propel them forward toward us. Their pace is
matched, and the two are neck and neck as they approach. Sophie and I leap back
as they barrel toward the dock, sending a soaking spray of lake water our way.
As we look on, Cash and another of his brothers grab hold of the wooden
platform and hoist themselves up out of the water, and I for one feel as if I
’
m
being swept away.

Water
courses in rivulets over Cash
’
s impeccably muscled
body, and I can
’
t tear my gaze away. As
he straightens up, I run my eyes along his cut torso, down to where his swim
trunks rest dangerously low on his waist. My core twists with longing as he
runs a hand through his soaking wet hair, each muscle rippling with the smallest
of motions.

And
I
’
m
not the only one staring, either.

Sophie
has gone stock still beside me, her eyes hard and fast not on Cash, but on the
brother he emerged from the water beside. The color has gone completely out of
her cheeks, and my normally ebullient sister is suddenly silent. What
’
s
that about?

“
Well?
Who had the best time, Finn?
”
Cash demands of the brother we first
encountered on the dock.

“
Couldn
’
t
tell, lost count. But it looked like a tie,
”
Finn replies.

“
No
such thing,
”
scoffs
the brother Sophie
’
s got her eyes trained
on.
“
Do
over.
”

“
Maybe
tomorrow, Luke. If you
’
re a really good boy,
”
Cash laughs, reaching for
the pack of cigarettes waiting for him on the dock. Turning, he catches sight
of Sophie and I
…
and doesn
’
t
even blink.

“
What
’
re
you, afraid to lose to your little brother?
”
the other man returns,
though he certainly doesn
’
t look little to me. He
’
s
at least as tall as Cash, though more clean-cut
—
with
only a couple of tattoos and close-cropped dark hair.

“
Nah.
We
’
ve
just got
guests
,
”
Cash replies, practically spitting the
last word as he whips out and lights a cigarette.

The
other two Hawthorne brothers look up, as if noticing us for the first time. The
one called Luke barely gives me a second glance, but he catches Sophie
’
s
eye at once. A flicker of something like curiosity passes through his deep
brown eyes, though it passes soon enough. The third brother, who looks to be
the youngest, can
’
t even be bothered to
acknowledge our presence.

Looks
like questionable first impressions run in the family.

“
What
can we do for you girls?
”
Cash asks, taking a long drag of his
cigarette. He
’
s doing a parody of being cordial,
and it
’
s
getting on my last nerve.

“
Dinner
’
s
ready,
”
I inform him,
“
Mom
sent us down to get you.
”

“
We
don
’
t
really do family dinners around here,
”
Cash goes on,
condescendingly.

“
We
’
re
more of a pizza and beer family, ourselves,
”
Luke puts in.

I
wait for Sophie to make some kind of snappy comeback, as she always does
…
but
the cat has yet to release her tongue. I draw myself up to my full height
—
which,
granted, isn
’
t much
—
and
try to sound assertive.

“
Well,
we
’
re
not doing things your way tonight,
”
I tell the trio of
strapping young bucks standing before me,
“
We
’
ve
gone out of our way to make a meal, and you three are going to join us. Sound
good?
”

“
Christ,
”
the youngest brother
speaks at last, tossing his sweep of ash brown hair away from his eyes,
“
I
didn
’
t
know we were gonna get the full June Cleaver treatment.
”

“
Don
’
t
be an ass, Finn,
”
Luke snaps. Apparently, he
’
s
the moral compass of this little tribe.
“
Come
on. I
’
m
not going to complain about a home cooked meal for once.
”

He
strides past us toward the house, and Sophie goes well out of her way to avoid
his gaze before following. Finn shrugs and follows suit
—
I
get the feeling that he
’
s more of a nihilist than
an asshole. That just leaves me and Cash, alone again. I watch as he nurses his
cigarette, in no hurry to move.

“
You
coming?
”
I ask him, watching his
full lips close around the filter of his cig.

“
In
a minute,
”
he
says, looking out across the lake.

“
Your
brothers seem
…
Uh
…
Charming,
”
I offer, not very
convincingly,
“
I didn
’
t
know you were the oldest. I guess we have that in common, huh?
”

“
You
didn
’
t
really stick around long enough to find out, did you?
”
Cash replies. Clearly, he
’
s
never going to let me live down my exit this morning. But instead of gushing
about how sorry I am, I decide to give him a taste of his own medicine.

“
Yeah,
”
I drawl, dropping my
voice an octave and giving an exaggerated shrug,
“
My
policy has always been hit
‘
em and quit
‘
em.
You get me, bro?
”

“…
What?
”
Cash replies flatly,
raising an eyebrow.

“
You
know, man,
”
I
go on,
“
Can
’
t
be lettin
’
bitches
get all attached and shit. I
’
m not a one-man kind of
girl, you feel me?
”

The
corner of Cash
’
s mouth lifts ever so slightly as my
bro impression picks up steam. It
’
s
a tiny crack in his armor, a slight warming of his oh-so-cold shoulder
treatment.