asks as I
put my hand on the knob.
"I like your mom, and I want her to have a nice
Thanksgiving. But I'm not going to pretend when she's not around," I say
flatly.
"Pretend?"
"That I'm happy about this new arrangement. I think you
and my dad are birds of the same feather."
"We're nothing alike," he replies, his jaw
clenching.
"Really? You both like to be in control. You let me
help you until you decided I got too close. And now you're asking me for my
whereabouts."
"I'm supposed to protect you."
"Or control me. Either way, don't expect me to make it
easy for you," I say with a smile.
Chapter Twelve
I pull off my jeans and pull on a pair of cotton pajama
pants. Jeans at a Thanksgiving meal are never a good choice, and it turns out
that Anne is an excellent cook so I ate even more than I thought was possible.
I also fervently wish that I hadn't decided to give up alcohol, because having
to spend that much time pretending that everything is swell would have been
much easier with a few glasses of wine in me.
Not that everything was bad. I like Anne, and Bree, too,
though she's still rather shy around me. Every now and then she'll say
something with an undertone of mischievousness that makes me think there's more
to her than meets the eye.
I hear a yell and a splash and freeze for a moment in the
middle of my room, then hurry over to the window. The floodlights on the back
of the house illuminate two figures in the pool, but they're moving around and
I can't figure out who they are. I dash across my room and fly down the steps,
then sprint over the grass as the two men surface and I finally recognize them.
The security men run out from the house just as I dive into the pool. The cold
shocks me for a moment, but I kick hard even as my clothing pulls me back.
I surface behind Carter and jump on his back, flinging my
arms around his neck. "It's Jack!" I yell in his ear. "My
brother!" He stops mid-lunge and over his shoulder, I see Jack shaking the
water from his eyes to see who just tackled him. "Hi, Jack," I say,
arms still around Carter. It's too deep for me to stand here anyway.
"Lex," he replies grimly, clearly none too pleased
by the situation. "And who the hell is this?" he asks, nodding at
Carter.
"This is our new step-brother," I say with a
cheery smile.
"Oh, wonderful," Jack replies sarcastically.
"Sorry," Carter says, clearing his throat. "I
thought you were an intruder."
I let myself slide off of his back and swim over to Jack to
give him a hug. "You OK?" I ask, examining him for bruises. He and
Carter look like physical matches for each other, but Carter had the element of
surprise. Jack is lucky he tackled him into the pool instead of the hard tiles
surrounding it. "What are you doing here so late anyway?"
"I just wanted...wanted to see everyone," he
explains.
"What's going on?" I glance up to the side of the
pool to see the entire household lined up. I look over to Bree, who asked the
question.
"From what I can gather, Carter tackled Jack into the pool because he
thought he was coming to kill me, or you, or maybe all of us," I say as
Jack and I walk into the shallows and up the steps onto dry land.
"That's quite an introduction," Bree says, looking
from her brother to Jack, her mouth twitching as though she's holding back a
laugh.
"Not funny," Jack grumbles, narrowing his eyes at
her. She shrugs with a giggle, and the household begins to disperse. He sighs.
"I need a beer. Lex, talk tomorrow?"
I nod and the two of them walk into the kitchen together. I
smile, glad to see they've become friends, and happy to see my older brother
again. I turn back to the boat house, feeling suddenly chilly in my soaking wet
clothes.
"Alexa!" I hear Carter call after me, followed by
splashing sounds. His feet slap against the stones behind me as I punch in the
code for the boat house. He catches the door before it closes and follows me up
the stairs.
"Go away!" I call after him as I stomp into
put my hand on the knob.
"I like your mom, and I want her to have a nice
Thanksgiving. But I'm not going to pretend when she's not around," I say
flatly.
"Pretend?"
"That I'm happy about this new arrangement. I think you
and my dad are birds of the same feather."
"We're nothing alike," he replies, his jaw
clenching.
"Really? You both like to be in control. You let me
help you until you decided I got too close. And now you're asking me for my
whereabouts."
"I'm supposed to protect you."
"Or control me. Either way, don't expect me to make it
easy for you," I say with a smile.
Chapter Twelve
I pull off my jeans and pull on a pair of cotton pajama
pants. Jeans at a Thanksgiving meal are never a good choice, and it turns out
that Anne is an excellent cook so I ate even more than I thought was possible.
I also fervently wish that I hadn't decided to give up alcohol, because having
to spend that much time pretending that everything is swell would have been
much easier with a few glasses of wine in me.
Not that everything was bad. I like Anne, and Bree, too,
though she's still rather shy around me. Every now and then she'll say
something with an undertone of mischievousness that makes me think there's more
to her than meets the eye.
I hear a yell and a splash and freeze for a moment in the
middle of my room, then hurry over to the window. The floodlights on the back
of the house illuminate two figures in the pool, but they're moving around and
I can't figure out who they are. I dash across my room and fly down the steps,
then sprint over the grass as the two men surface and I finally recognize them.
The security men run out from the house just as I dive into the pool. The cold
shocks me for a moment, but I kick hard even as my clothing pulls me back.
I surface behind Carter and jump on his back, flinging my
arms around his neck. "It's Jack!" I yell in his ear. "My
brother!" He stops mid-lunge and over his shoulder, I see Jack shaking the
water from his eyes to see who just tackled him. "Hi, Jack," I say,
arms still around Carter. It's too deep for me to stand here anyway.
"Lex," he replies grimly, clearly none too pleased
by the situation. "And who the hell is this?" he asks, nodding at
Carter.
"This is our new step-brother," I say with a
cheery smile.
"Oh, wonderful," Jack replies sarcastically.
"Sorry," Carter says, clearing his throat. "I
thought you were an intruder."
I let myself slide off of his back and swim over to Jack to
give him a hug. "You OK?" I ask, examining him for bruises. He and
Carter look like physical matches for each other, but Carter had the element of
surprise. Jack is lucky he tackled him into the pool instead of the hard tiles
surrounding it. "What are you doing here so late anyway?"
"I just wanted...wanted to see everyone," he
explains.
"What's going on?" I glance up to the side of the
pool to see the entire household lined up. I look over to Bree, who asked the
question.
"From what I can gather, Carter tackled Jack into the pool because he
thought he was coming to kill me, or you, or maybe all of us," I say as
Jack and I walk into the shallows and up the steps onto dry land.
"That's quite an introduction," Bree says, looking
from her brother to Jack, her mouth twitching as though she's holding back a
laugh.
"Not funny," Jack grumbles, narrowing his eyes at
her. She shrugs with a giggle, and the household begins to disperse. He sighs.
"I need a beer. Lex, talk tomorrow?"
I nod and the two of them walk into the kitchen together. I
smile, glad to see they've become friends, and happy to see my older brother
again. I turn back to the boat house, feeling suddenly chilly in my soaking wet
clothes.
"Alexa!" I hear Carter call after me, followed by
splashing sounds. His feet slap against the stones behind me as I punch in the
code for the boat house. He catches the door before it closes and follows me up
the stairs.
"Go away!" I call after him as I stomp into
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