Stepbrother Broken (The Hawthorne Brothers Book 2) (10 page)

“
I
’
m
so happy to see you, baby!
”
Mom beams, clapping a hand to
her flushed cheek.
“
It
’
s
been
…
God, how long
has
it been?
”

“
Just since Christmas, Mom,
”
I reply, adjusting my backpack on my tired shoulders.

“
Here, let me take that,
”
John says, lifting the bag from my back,
“
I
’
ll put it upstairs in one of the
spare bedrooms.
”

“
Oh. Sure,
”
I tell him, receiving a gruff nod in reply.

“
Thanks for going to pick her up,
”
my mom says to John, laying a tender hand on his
bulging bicep,
“
You
’
re
the best.
”

“
Yeah, yeah,
”
John grumbles amiably,
“
So
you keep telling me.
”

I
wait until our brawny host has disappeared into the lake house before rounding
on my mother.

“
Funny thing,
”
I say wryly,
“
I don
’
t
remember you mentioning your pet lumberjack, when you invited me out here.
”

“
Pet lumberjack?
”
my mom echoes, cocking her head at me,
“
You mean John?
”

“
Yes, of course I mean John,
”
I reply,
“
A little warning would have been
nice, Mom.
”

“
I could have sworn I told you
…”
she says absently, looking out across the wide lawn.

“
No,
”
I
tell her,
“
You didn
’
t.
”

“
Well
…
Surprise!
”
she laughs, clasping her hands together,
“
Isn
’
t he just the sweetest man you
’
ve ever met in your life?
”

Nope.
That would have been Dad,
I think to myself, resisting the temptation to say so out loud.

“
John
’
s
been so kind to me since I
’
ve been back in town,
”
my mom goes on,
“
Really, I don
’
t know what I would have done without him.
”

“
Yeah. He mentioned you guys were
old friends,
”
I reply.

“
Is
that
what he told you?
”
Mom asks, eyebrows raised.

“
Why,
”
I
ask,
“
Is there more to the story?
”

“
Oh look!
”
Mom gushes, ignoring my question completely,
“
Here comes your sister!
”

I
spin around on the patio and catch a flash of platinum blonde in the sunlight.
Walking up the long dock that stretches into the lake is my little sister,
Annabel. Though
“
little
”
is hardly the right world for her anymore. At
nineteen, she
’
s already the tallest of all the
Porter women, with long willowy limbs and big, beautiful doe eyes. All three of
us girls were toe heads when we were little, but only Anna retained her bright
blonde locks as she grew older. I haven
’
t seen her since the holidays, and
in the past several months she
’
s come to look more like a grown
woman than ever.

“
Look, Anna! Sophie
’
s here!
”
my Mom trills as Annabel
makes her way toward us across the grassy lawn.

“
Yeah. I see that, Mom,
”
Anna replies, climbing the patio steps,
“
What
’
s up, Soph?
”

“
Not too much. Just got in,
”
I tell her, a little put off by her nonchalance.

Anna
’
s never been super affectionate, even when she was a
kid. I respect her utter lack of bullshit, but sometimes I can
’
t help but wish for a big, giddy reunion with my
little sister. I really do miss her when I
’
m away at school. With only two
years separating us in age, Anna and I were best friends until we both hit our
angsty teenage years. I always hoped that we
’
d
reconnect once we were a little older, but Dad
’
s
death and my moving away scattered any chance of that. I often feel like my
little sister resents me for leaving her alone with Mom these past three years.
And to be perfectly honest, I wouldn
’
t blame her if she did.

“
Why don
’
t you show your sister around the place?
”
Mom says to Anna, all but skipping away into the
house.

“
Sure,
”
Anna
replies, watching her go,
“
No problem.
”

The
back door slams behind our mother, and Anna and I are alone at last. I jerk my
head toward the house, wiggling my eyebrows conspiratorially.

“
So, what
’
s the deal with that?
”
I
ask her.

“
What, Mom and John?
”
she replies,
“
You
’
re
asking the wrong person. I didn
’
t even know she was staying with
him until I got in from Vermont.
”

“
You mean she didn
’
t even tell
you
?
”
I
ask, gaping at my little sister,
“
But
…
you
guys still live in the same house!
”

“
Eh. Nominally,
”
Anna shrugs,
“
I stopped trying to keep track of
her years ago. It
’
s better to just let her do her own
thing. You know she
’
s going to anyway.
”

“
Christ. You sound more like the
mother than she does,
”
I murmur, crossing my arms.

“
Well,
”
Anna
replies,
“
Someone has to be the mom in our
relationship, right?
”

Sympathy
wrings my heartstrings as I reflect for the millionth time on how hard these
past few years must have been on Anna. I wish there was some way to talk to her
about it, find out how she
’
s really doing. But she
’
s become so closed off to me and Maddie that I wouldn
’
t even know where to begin.

“
So, you want to see this place or
what?
”
Anna asks, walking past me toward
the house.

“
Oh. Uh. Sure,
”
I reply, trailing behind her,
“
Might as well.
”

Despite
my reservations about this trip, I can
’
t help but be impressed by John
’
s lakeside home. The sprawling interior features a
palatial great room with two fireplaces, an incredible, fully stocked kitchen,
and more than half a dozen guest rooms. The decor strikes just the right
balance between rustic and modern, and it
’
s far more tidy than I would
expect, what with four men living here and all. Speaking of all those men
…

“
Where are these sons I
’
ve heard about?
”
I ask Anna, as we wrap up our
tour in the guest bedroom I
’
ve been assigned.

“
I barely caught a glimpse of them
when I got here this morning,
”
she tells me, settling down
on the quilt-covered twin bed,
“
The two younger ones are off
camping tonight. They
’
re getting back tomorrow afternoon.
And the oldest one hasn
’
t even shown up yet.
”

“
What are they like?
”
I ask her, sitting cross-legged on the bed. I
’
ll take my sisterly girl talk whenever I can get it.

“
Tough to say,
”
she shrugs,
“
They
’
re
pretty quiet. Barely said a word to me before they left. Real hot though.
”

“
Oh yeah?
”
I press.

“
Yeah,
”
she
replies, her long platinum hair falling across her face as she glances down at
her hands. So much for girl talk. Maybe a different line of questioning would
go over better?

“
So
…
How
has your gap year been so far?
”
I ask her. Rather than
starting college right away, Anna decided to take a year off. She
’
s a wonderful photographer, and has been building up
quite the portfolio in the lead up to applying for art school. If that
’
s what she decides to do, that is.

“
You really don
’
t have to do that,
”
she
mutters, looking up at me sharply.

“
Do what?
”
I reply, taken aback.

“
Make small talk with me,
”
she goes on,
“
I
’
m
your sister, not your dentist.
”

“
Well, you
’
re not really giving me an opening Anna,
”
I reply,
“
I
’
m
just trying to
—”

“
Look,
”
she
cuts me off,
“
Things are going to be weird
between us, Sophie. It
’
s inevitable. I just wish you
wouldn
’
t try to muscle through it. You
’
re supposed to be the one other Porter woman who
’
s as allergic to bullshit as I am, right?
”

“
What,
”
I
reply, a sly smile spreading across my face,
“
You
don
’
t want me to puke rainbows and
butterflies all over you like Mom does?
”

“
Or obsess about saying the perfect
thing
—
at the perfect time
—
to the point of insanity, like
Maddie,
”
she adds, invoking our older sister
’
s pathological tendency for perfectionism.

I
laugh, relishing this taste of my and Anna
’
s childhood dynamic. Madeleine is
three years older than me, and claimed Dad as her best friend long before I or
Annabel showed up on the scene. With Mom off in the clouds, Anna and I were
left to our own devices most of the time, and the friendship that sprung up
between us is deeper than any I
’
ve ever known. Maybe there
’
s hope for us yet?

“
Just be real with me, Sophie,
”
Anna goes on, fixing her big blue eyes on my face,
“
Isn
’
t that what your fancy drama school
is supposed to be teaching you how to do?
”