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

backpack fall to the hot pavement with a thud.
Just as I unburden myself, I spot a pickup truck rumbling down the road toward
me.
    And
it looks to be slowing down.
    “ Great, ” I mutter as the truck approaches.
    I ’ ve gotten more than enough catcalls, whistles, and
offers to trade a ride for a blowjob today. Montana boys can be just as forward
as any big city man, that ’ s for damn sure. I cross my arms,
trying to signal the driver that I ’ m not interested in being harassed
today. But, big surprise, he doesn ’ t pick up on the hint.
    “ Hey there, ” says a man ’ s voice over the pickup ’ s engine, “ Are you — ? ”
    “ No, ” I
cut off the driver, “ I ’ m
not lost, I don ’ t need a ride, and I don ’ t have any cash, grass, or ass to spare. So you can
keep on trucking, pal. ”
    The
man behind the wheel lifts the brim of his baseball cap, revealing a stoic but
handsome face halfway obscured by a bushy, salt and pepper beard.
    “ Actually, I was going to ask if you
were Sophie Porter, ” the man replies.
    I
look up at him sharply, taken aback. “ How do you — ? ”
    “ Thought so, ” he nods, “ You look just like Robin when she
was your age. ”
    “ I ’ m
sorry … Who are you? ” I ask. I wouldn ’ t know this man from Adam — how is it that he knows both my and my mother ’ s name?
    “ Apologies, ” he goes on, “ Shoulda introduced myself. Name ’ s John. I ’ m an old school friend of your
mother ’ s. ”
    “ Oh, ” I
reply, “ That ’ s … nice. ”
    “ Sure is, ” John chuckles, “ She told me you were coming in on
the bus, so I came out to meet you. That woman may be a good painter, but she
can ’ t read a map for shit. ”
    “ That ’ s
for sure, ” I smile tentatively.
    “ Sorry you still had to walk most of
the way, ” John goes on, “ Come on. Let me give you a lift back to the house. ”
    “ Um. All right, ” I agree, approaching the truck and wrenching open the
rusty door. “ You know where this lake house is,
then? ”
    “ I sure hope so, ” John laughs gruffly as I climb up into the truck, “ I built the damn thing. ”
    “ You built … the house we ’ re renting? ” I ask him, totally lost.
    “ Ah, ” he
grumbles, pulling off onto the dirt road, “ Guess Robin left out a couple
details about this little trip. ”
    “ Guess so, ” I reply, sinking back against the passenger ’ s seat, “ Care to fill me in? ”
    “ Well, ” John
starts, “ The long and the short of it is,
your Mom ’ s been staying with me while she ’ s back in town. She called up a couple months back and
let me know she was coming home for a spell. I told her she could crash with me
while she spent some time getting back to her roots. ”
    “ Mom ’ s
been living with you this whole time? ” I ask him, eyes wide.
    “ Yep, ” the
man replies, “ Like I told you, we go way back,
Robin and me. Grew up in this little town together. Used to be thick as
thieves, once upon a time. ”
    “ Uh-huh, ” I say flatly.
    Something
tells me that John and my mom are thicker than ever, if she ’ s been living out here in the woods with him — for months. Without letting any of her
daughters know. I ’ ve managed to avoid meeting too
many of Mom ’ s little boyfriends since Dad
passed away, but it looks like my lucky streak has just come to an end.
    “ I didn ’ t realize this would all be news to you, ” John says, stealing a glance at me, “ I hope you can still enjoy yourself here. How long are
you staying? ”
    “ Two weeks, ” I tell him. And not a second longer, I add
silently to myself.
    “ Plenty of time to kick back and
relax, ” he smiles, “ I really think you ’ ll
like it here. The house is plenty big for the whole lot of us. My boys aren ’ t exactly the most socialized creatures you ’ ll ever meet, but they ’ re
harmless. Mostly they just keep to themselves. ”
    “ Your … boys? ” I ask.
    “ My sons, ” John nods, “ Got