Stepbrother Broken (The Hawthorne Brothers Book 2) (18 page)

Anna
turns her frank, unapologetic gaze first on Maddie, then on me.
“
I just wish the two of you would think about someone
besides yourselves once in a while.
”

“
Anna, what are you talking about?
”
I ask her, fearing that I already know the answer.

“
Come on,
”
Anna says, sounding more disappointed than angry now,
“
You can
’
t play dumb with me, you guys. I
know you too well for that.
”

And
with that, she turns and marches away from us. I try and tell myself that she
could be upset about any number of things. Maybe she
’
s annoyed about hearing the details of my and Maddie
’
s lives, far away from Mom? Maybe she
’
s sick of being cooped up in this lake house with a
bunch of people she has almost nothing common with? Or maybe, I dare to
consider, she
’
s somehow figured out the truth.
Maybe she knows about me and Luke after all. But no
…
if that were it, why would she be mad at Maddie, too?

“
Do you have any idea what she
’
s on about?
”
my older sister asks me.

“
Nope,
”
I
lie,
“
No idea.
”

“
Huh,
”
Maddie
muses,
“
You know Anna. Always the sensitive
one. We should probably just let her go off and do her own thing. Close
quarters do weird things to people
…”

That
must be it. Just a case of cabin fever. Still, it wouldn
’
t hurt to check up on my little sister later tonight,
once she
’
s cooled off a bit. The last thing
I want is to let this toxic tension between us keep on mounting.

My
thoughts are derailed as a flurry of motion catches my eye on the lake house
lawn. A bright red kayak is being carried down to the dock by the two older
Hawthorne boys. I barely even register Cash, holding up the front end of the
vessel. With my eyes hidden behind my sunglasses, I swing my gaze instead to
that shirtless, rippling body I
’
ve come to know so well already.
Luke holds up the back of the kayak, easily bearing the weight with one thick
arm. I ogle him unabashedly as he and his brother approach the dock, still
amazed that such an ideal man has fallen into my life.

“
Jesus Christ,
”
Cash sneers at me and Maddie,
“
I should have worn some shades down here
—
that pale ass skin of yours is gonna make me go blind.
”

“
Ha, ha,
”
I say dismissively,
“
Just
wait until you
’
re an old, sunbaked, wrinkly dude
at the age of thirty, and then we
’
ll see who
’
s laughing.
”

“
He
’
s
already a grumpy old asshole on the inside,
”
Luke
says, lowering the kayak from his shoulder,
“
I
’
m sure the outside will match before long.
”

I
deliberately refrain from responding to Luke, as per our ground rules. We
’
ve gotten pretty good at this whole
feigning-indifference thing, I have to say.

“
You got the keys to the truck?
”
Cash asks Luke. I know for a fact that he does. A very
large butterfly ricochets around my stomach as I once again recall what,
exactly, happened in that truck mere hours ago.

“
What do you need it for?
”
Luke asks, forking over the keys to his brother.

“
Need some more smokes,
”
Cash tells him, laughing at Luke
’
s unamused expression,
“
Sack
up, man. It
’
s not meth.
”

I
glance over at the brothers, gaging Luke
’
s reaction. Most of the time, he
hides his resentment of his older brother well enough. But when Cash goes and
shoves his don
’
t-give-a-fuck bad boy act in Luke
’
s face, it
’
s hard for him to disengage.

“
Oh, right. I forgot that lung
cancer is real fucking manly,
”
Luke says flatly,
“
Forget sacking up
—
when are you gonna try
growing
up, Cash?
”

“
What would I do that for?
”
Cash replies, clearly trying to bait Luke into a
conflict,
“
You
’
re
already playing man of the house around here, isn
’
t
that right little brother?
”

“
I
’
m
not
playing
at anything, you prick,
”
Luke snarls,
“
All I
’
m doing is picking up your slack.
”

Uneasiness
spikes in my blood as I watch Luke
’
s square jaw pulse with anger. Cash
has no respect for Luke, no idea of the sacrifices his younger brother had to
make after he bailed on the family. All Cash sees in Luke is the son John
wishes his oldest had been. And it drives him crazy.

“
What a good little boy,
”
Cash sneers, giving Luke a hard punch on the shoulder.

“
Don
’
t
touch me, asshole,
”
Luke growls at his brother,
balling his hands into fists.

“
Come on, lil
’
guy,
”
Cash goes on, shoving Luke
across the dock,
“
You still afraid to take on your
big, bad brother?
”

I
glance over at Maddie as the brothers square off. Luke is just as big and built
as his brother
—
they
’
re
evenly matching in strength. But I can never tell how unhinged Cash actually
is. I know he
’
s fond of boxing, and MMA, and that
uber-macho crap. Luke has too much integrity to resort to violence unless it
’
s absolutely necessary, but Cash
…
?

“
I
’
ve
always preferred fair fights, Cash.
Clean
fights,
”
Luke tells his brother evenly,
“
Not exactly your specialty.
”

Cash
’
s hazel eyes flash with indignant outrage at Luke
’
s words. I have no idea what Luke is alluding to, but
whatever it is, it seems to have struck a nerve with his brother.

“
Guys, come on. Chill out
…”
Maddie says, rising to her feet.

“
Seriously, you
’
re being idiots,
”
I snap anxiously.

“
You girls just aren
’
t used to the way guys settle things,
”
Cash grins.

“
The way
some
guys settle
things,
”
Luke corrects him sternly,
“
No matter the consequences. Right, Cash?
”

Luke
’
s defiant words only stoke the ire brewing in Cash
’
s eyes. What the hell must have happened to these men
to make them so bitter towards each other? What was it that really turned these
brothers into nemeses?

“
Cash
…”
Maddie
pleads,
“
Could you please just drop this?
You
’
re freaking me out.
”

“
Yeah Luke,
”
I murmur, easing toward him,
“
This is nuts. You guys are brothers.
”

“
In name, maybe,
”
Luke spits contemptuously,
“
But thankfully, that
’
s
all.
”

“
That
’
s
the good ol
’
Hawthorne name for you,
”
Cash snarls,
“
It
’
ll
stick to you like a motherfucker, even if it doesn
’
t mean shit.
”

Luke
tears his eyes away from his older brother, bitter disappointment showing
through his anger.

“
Well,
”
Cash
goes on haughtily,
“
I
’
m
off.
”
I feel my body tense up as his
hazel eyes dart unexpectedly toward me.
“
You wanna ride with?
”

Luke
’
s head whips around toward his brother, his eyes
narrowing suspiciously. I stare back at Cash, taken off guard by his offer. He
’
s barely acknowledged me the entire time we
’
ve been here at the house. Why the sudden interest?
Still, I can
’
t very well refuse. Part of my
strategy for not attracting attention to me and Luke is dividing my time among
the other lake house guests. Including Cash, I guess.

“
Oh. Uh
…
OK,
”
I say to Cash, trying to keep
the trepidation out of my voice,
“
Yeah, why not. I haven
’
t really seen much of the town here.
”

“
Great,
”
Cash replies,
“
Though fair warning, there
’
s not much of a town to see. It
’
s kind of a shit hole, to be
honest.
”

“
Well, now I have to see it,
”
I laugh gamely, making sure not to steal a glance at
Luke as I grab my things and follow Cash up along the dock. But even though I
refrain from looking at my secret companion, I can feel the tense unease rising
off of him. He won
’
t stop me from going, but I know he
’
s less than thrilled about it.

“
I didn
’
t know those two, uh, got along so well
…”
I hear Maddie say to Luke as I walk away with Cash.

“
Mhm,
”
Luke
murmurs in response. I can feel his eyes boring into my back as I walk along in
Cash
’
s wake. Is he just angry with his
brother after their spat, or is he unhappy with me as well? Is it even safe to
be riding along with the unpredictable Cash Hawthorne?

I
guess I
’
m about to find out, one way or
another.

“
Hop in,
”
Cash says to me as we reach the well-worn family
pickup.

I
glance back at the truck bed as I yank open the passenger side door. If only
this truck could talk, huh? Scrambling up into the seat, I realize that this is
the first time I
’
ve been alone with Cash since
arriving at the lake house. And as he starts the truck, peeling away from the
house with one arm dangling out the driver
’
s side window, I wonder if I should
have left it that way.

“
You guys really don
’
t fuck around, huh?
”
I
laugh nervously, glancing at Luke
’
s glowering face in the rear view
mirror as the truck trundles away.

Cash
grunts back at me. Not exactly a talker, this one.

“
I get the sibling rivalry thing,
”
I try again, tucking my knees into my chest,
“
Maddie and I can
’
t go fifteen minutes without
getting on each other
’
s last
—”