Read Online Stepbrother Bastard by Colleen Masters - Free Book Online Page B

her next flight of fancy. That ’ s
always been her way.
    “ Maddie, ” my mom trills, lifting a
huge tray of baked potatoes from the oven, “ Why
don ’ t
you go round up the boys? Everything ’ ll
be ready in a sec. ”
    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 ’