Hurricane Stepbrother by Stephanie Brother Page A

out just as swiftly.
    Once the initial shock wore off, the wedding resumed like it had never happened. There were quiet whispers during the reception that Gerald and my mother pretended not to hear and the denial about Erik’s outburst and even his existence continued long after that.
    Eight years long, to be more specific.
    When my stepfather had a sudden heart attack, the pre-reading of his will dictated that his son be contacted and given a third of Gerald’s estate. Apparently, my mom insisted that Erik be left in his will and the two fought tooth and nail over it for years before he finally relented and reinstated his son.
    All I knew was I would never forget the first time I saw him.
    And I would never be able to forget the second time, either.
    I was standing on the porch of my home since childhood, arms tightly wrapped around my body to protect myself from the cold wind as I looked up at the clouds littering the sky. The weather reports were calling for a massive storm and I was worried about my mom who was visiting my grandmother in the next town over. She was set to come home today but had called a few minutes prior to tell me she planned to wait until after the storm passed and begging me to stay safe.
    That was when it happened.
    I heard a roar in the distance and at first I had mistaken it for thunder, but my heart came to a stop when I slowly began to realize that the sound was far too steady to be caused by the weather. I had taken a few hesitant steps off the porch, the wind whipping my hair to the side as I looked down the street and my breath caught in my throat at the sight of a black motorcycle zooming up the road and slowing to a stop at my curb.
    I stared at the leather clad figure with my mouth hanging open, the helmet covered head turning to stare at me in turn. After a long moment, the engine roared again as the man started to pull away, but he only went as far as the driveway before directing the bike towards my garage doors.
    I watched his gloved hand make a wild motion at the door and I nodded dumbly before turning around and rushing into the house. I didn’t give myself even a moment to consider the possible repercussions of my actions, I just ran for the garage and pressed the button to roll up the door.
    As it opened, a wave of rain came blasting into the garage, nearly soaking me in the process. He pulled the bike into the garage and I pressed the button to close the door, waiting until the noise finally stopped before turning back to the drenched, leather-clad figure behind me.
    He swung his leg over his bike and pulled off his helmet and any doubt in my mind that it was him faded away as my gaze locked onto the blue eyes I’d never be able to forget.
    The poet in me chuckled at the irony. A man that I had thought of for years as an unstoppable force of nature riding into town on his dark horse on the edge of a hurricane.
    How perfectly fitting.

Chapter Two
     
    “You’re Erik,” I stupidly said after a long moment of mutual staring, my voice cutting through the thick silence that had overtaken the garage. Even the sound of the rain beating down hard on the roof wasn’t enough to break the tension.
    He tilted his head to the side, his blue eyes sweeping up and down my body a few times before settling back on my face. “Yeah. Are you-”
    “I’m Kristen,” I introduced myself, realizing that he probably never bothered to learn my name. I’d be surprised if he even bothered to learn my mother’s name but still- “I’m Holly’s daughter.”
    He looked down at my outstretched hand then back up at me, his eyes lighting up with recognition. “The kid from the wedding?” he asked softly and I nodded, even though his question felt more like he was thinking out loud. He looked down at my hand again, hesitating for a moment before reaching out his own gloved hand and placing it in mine. “So you’re my… stepsister.”
    I shrugged a little. “I suppose so. But, uh...