Stepbrother Broken (The Hawthorne Brothers Book 2) by Colleen Masters Page A

Yeah, ” she
chuckles nervously, “ He seems like kind of a dick,
right? ”
    “ Total dick, ” I agree. “ Pretty hot though. ”
    “ S-sorry? ” Maddie stammers, running a hand through her long dark
blonde bob. God, she can be such a puritan sometimes.
    “ What? He is, ” I shrug, “ 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 …” Maddie allows slowly, “ But
I mean, he ’ s kind of off limits, right? All
the boys are. What with Mom and John ’ s
history and everything? ”
    I
nearly stop in my tracks at Maddie ’ s uncharacteristic leap of logic.
    “ Whoa, whoa. I wasn ’ t planning on jumping him or
anything, Maddie, ” I laugh, “ Unless you think he ’ d be into it, that is. ”
    I
watch as Maddie ’ s face goes perfectly still, her
mouth hardening into a tight straight line. I hate to say it, but she ’ s always been something of a prude, my big
sister. I mean for god ’ s sake, she ’ s only had about three boyfriends in her entire life.
And all of them were long, drawn out, monogamous relationships. I shudder at
the very thought.
    “ Christ, Maddie. I ’ m kidding, ” I say, snapping my sister out of her dead-eyed trance.
    “ Oh. Right, ” she mutters, “ I knew that. ”
    “ We need to get you drunk ASAP
tonight, ” I laughs, “ The rat race is turning you into something of a
downer, my dear. ”
    It ’ s so weird that her mind would leap immediately to
whether or not it ’ s OK for us to hook up with John ’ s sons. Maybe all that boring relationship sex is
screwing with her straight-and-narrow sensibilities? I hadn ’ t even considered that question myself. But, then
again, I have someone waiting for me back at Sheridan. Someone who would surely
put these rowdy country boys to shame.
    I
spot one such country boy standing at the end of the dock, looking out across
the water. He ’ s big and broad-shouldered like his
dad, and tatted-up like Cash, but with much lighter ash-brown hair.
    “ Hey there, ” I call to him as Maddie and I approach.
    He
ignores me completely, keeping his gaze on the water.
    “ Maybe he didn ’ t hear you? ” Maddie suggests in a whisper.
    Maybe
he ’ s just being a dick, I think to myself, marching right
up to him.
    “ Hey, ” I
repeat, tapping on his muscled shoulder, “ What ’ s up? ”
    I
take a step back, startled, as he raises his hand to me. For a terrifying
second, I ’ m reminded of the other night at
the bar — the moment when that skinhead
maniac cocked back his arm to pummel Danny into the ground. But no … this guy is simply trying to shut me up. Looks like he ’ s just as charming as his big brother after all. What ’ s so damn fascinating about the lake, anyway?
    Following
the younger son ’ s gaze out across the water, I spot
the source of his intense focus. Two built, barreling bodies are racing toward
us, cutting the water with strong, sure strokes. I ’ m guessing that it ’ s
the two other brothers, having a little pre-dinner race. I ’ ll never understand men and their need to make everything into a contest.
    Taking
a big step back to avoid getting drenched, I watch as the two men soar toward
the dock, sending up a huge jet of water in their wake. Crossing my arms, I
brace myself to meet the third of John ’ s sons. Maybe he ’ ll be more of a conversationalist than this cavemen
brothers? But something tells me not to get my hopes up.
    I
look on as the swimmers grab hold of the wooden dock and pull themselves
effortlessly up out of the water. Just as they climb side-by-side onto the
planks and straighten up, the fiery orange sun blazes out from behind a cloud
just above the horizon. I squint into the bright sunlight, blinded by the
sudden burst. When my eyes start to adjust, I find myself starting at a pair of
exceptionally cut