Stepbrother: Forbidden Cravings: Stepbrother Romance Boxed Set (6 page)

Chapter 2

They were led back to a large enclosed arena. A white horse trotted along the edge and the figure of a young man stood in the center, eating an apple and holding a whip to his side casually.

“There’s Dylan,” said Kevin.

“Let’s go introduce you two. Hey! Son! Come here a moment!”

Dylan whipped his head in his father’s direction and came running to the edge of the fence smiling.

“Hi, there,” he said and reached his hand over.

“My name’s Dylan. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“I’m Denise.” She shook his hand then stepped back.

“I’m Summer.”

As Summer and Dylan shook hands, they smiled at each other, and she nearly knocked the ground. She’d never before seen someone with such striking grey eyes and angular features. His hand was strong as he shook hers, rough and firm.

“You working on breaking Snowflake again?” asked Kevin, shaking away the concentration between Summer and Dylan.

“Yes,” said Dylan.

“Trying to get her to the point that if someone hops on her back she won’t throw them off. This apple was supposed to be for her, but she was being bad.”

He laughed and took another bite of the apple.

“She’s a stubborn one, that’s for sure. Definitely has an attitude,” said Kevin.

“She is. But I like a challenge.”

Kevin squinted at the sun and put his arms on his hips.

“Well gang, how about I treat you all to lunch before we start this unpacking process? Gotta fuel up before we start carrying boxes.”

“Sounds good, Dad,” said Dylan as he hopped over the fence to walk with them.

“Let’s go to Pete’s.”

Kevin rubbed his hands together and nodded.

“You ladies will like that place. It’s a small restaurant but it’s a personal favorite of mine. They have the best food in town.”

Summer chimed in.

“That probably isn’t hard. I can’t imagine there are many places to eat around here.”

They piled into Kevin’s truck and headed to the center of the little town. Summer was correct, there wasn’t much activity in the area.

The town had a small grocery store, hardware store, and a couple of shops and local restaurants. People walked along the sidewalks happily, oblivious of the large world outside of their tiny town. They all seemed content.

“Right there on that corner is Pete’s. Lots of good food to be had,” said Kevin.

Summer observed the small shack with swinging doors and wondered if Kevin and Dylan had ever been to an Applebee’s or a McDonald’s before.

They parked the car and walked inside. There were a few people scattered around various tables and a few sitting at the bar. Two older gentlemen with large mustaches played billiards in the corner.

Some old country music played softly through the overhead speakers. The people were all talking, and yet they still seemed so dead.

“Pick a table, any table,” said Kevin.

Summer looked over at Dylan who chose the booth closest to the window. They all sat down and opened the menus. Summer suddenly began to feel slightly overwhelmed by everything, and she was growing more fearful of her new life.

It no longer seemed like something she could ease into. Was this going to be her afternoon every day? Would the idea of fun be getting burgers and beer and drinking sadness away at this tiny little restaurant?

She felt dizzy and closed her menu.

“Excuse me, everyone, but I’d like to be excused for a moment.”

Denise looked up at her daughter.

“Are you alright, honey?”

“I just need to step outside for a bit.”

Summer pushed in her chair and exited the restaurant. She stood outside and looked to both her left and her right, and as much as she tried to keep it in, her eyes began to swell with stressful tears.

She could hear the door opening again behind her, and the familiar voice from Dylan called, “Hey, you okay?”

She shook her head, afraid that speaking would result in the downfall of tears and her voice shaking terribly. She would not look over at Dylan.

He grew closer to her.

“You know, I can kind of understand in a way what you’re going through. I grew up in a not-so-big city, but even coming from there to here was a drastic change for me.”

“When my dad hit it big, I thought we’d be living the dream in a loft in Denver or Boulder or something. But I gotta tell you… it gets a whole lot better. Trust me. Even if you don’t see it now. I can’t imagine my life being any different.”

Summer calmed down a bit and finally looked up at Dylan.

“How do you know that’s what I’m upset about?”

He smiled a crooked and heartfelt grin.

“Well, am I wrong?”

Summer sighed.

“No. You aren’t wrong.”

“Come on,” he said putting his hand on the small of her back and guiding her down the sidewalk.

“Let’s go for a stroll. Let the newlyweds enjoy a lunch together. We’ll join them in a few minutes.”

Dylan and Summer walked side by side slowly down the sidewalk, their conversations slowly pulling Summer away from the anxiety she had just been feeling.

Dylan continued talking about his father.

“You know, he’s quite an amazing man. He’s done so much for us and for his business. He was able to buy a bunch of ranches across Colorado and Wyoming because of his main business. He gets to do what he loves everyday, and because of that, so do I.”

“What do you love to do everyday, Dylan?”

She could see as his eyes lit up.

“Me? I love to ride horses. Compete in roping competitions. I break horses for my dad so we can lease them out to people. I teach lessons to kids sometimes, too, but I don’t have much time for that anymore.”

“Listen to me when I tell you this. I grew up thinking I was going to be an architect. Then my mom died and my dad’s business really took off, and at ten years old I thought I would hate living on a ranch when he moved us here. But fifteen years later, I can honestly say it’s been the biggest blessing in the world. I hope that doesn’t sound too corny.”

Summer watched as Dylan beamed with passion and excitement as he talked about his life. His eyes twinkled and danced, and his shoulders were back and comfortable.

She couldn’t pinpoint exactly why, but in that moment, she thought she felt almost an attraction for this young cowboy.

“What about you, lady? What do you like to do?”

She shrugged.

“I’m still figuring that out myself.”

“Well, let me tell you. Tomorrow morning you should let me take you for a ride. I think you’ll enjoy it. That is, if you’ve never been on a horse before.”

Summer smiled.

“I haven’t.”

Dylan clapped and his boyish grin returned.

“That settles it then. Nine o’ clock. We’ll go for a ride. Now, let’s go return to our parents. They probably are wondering where we are.”

Summer nodded and they began walking back to the restaurant. She felt at ease after the talk with Dylan and less overwhelmed about all that was to come. She looked over at him, and it wasn’t until then that she realized just how tall and strong he truly was.

His arms were tight and defined, tanned from working in the sun all day. She chased away the idea that floated in her mind about leaning over and kissing him. It was a feeling she was deeply trying to ignore.

Chapter 3

Summer awoke at eight in the morning to the Western sun kissing her window. She sat up in her bed and could smell the aroma of breakfast making its way into her room from the kitchen. Dylan must have been awake.

She ran down the staircase and found Dylan flipping eggs in a skillet over the stove with one skillet over sizzling with bacon. He sipped on a mug full of black coffee.

“Morning, Summer!” he cheerfully called up the stairs as she made her way down.

“You all ready for our ride?”

“I am… by the way, how long have you been awake?”

Dylan transferred the eggs and bacon onto two plates and poured Summer a cup of coffee.

“I’ve been up since four. Fed the horses and cleaned their stalls. Took Snowflake out for a quick lap before she threw me off. Now I’m here making us breakfast.

Summer took a bite of her eggs; they were the most delicious eggs she’d ever had.

“Do you always wake up that early? By the way… these eggs are really amazing.”

Dylan beamed with pride.

“I know they are! They’re from my dad’s chickens. And yes, I do wake up this early every morning. Sometimes earlier, I sure do love it, though. Now, finish your breakfast and come meet me outside!”

Summer shoved the last few bites into her mouth and followed Dylan out to the horse stalls. He introduced them all to her by name, and stopped on a beautiful horse named Sunday.

“Summer and Sunday,” he said.

“I think you two will get along just fine.”

Dylan pulled the horse from her stall and began applying her saddle and bridle. Summer watched closely, observing how gently he interacted with Sunday, and she felt a sense of warmth.

“Hop on!” he said to her.

She looked up at the horse slightly terrified, but didn’t want Dylan to sense her fear. She put one foot in a stirrup and swung her body on the horse, holding the reins in the way she felt was correct.

Dylan pulled Sunday and Summer out to the outdoor arena and looked up and laughed as he saw how Summer was holding the reins.

“You’re holding on for dear life! Loosen up a bit. Horses can sense when you’re tense and take advantage of it.”

Summer looked at her hands and saw her knuckles were white. Embarrassed, she did as told and loosened the reins along with allowing her breath to make a deep exhale.

“Good! Now, I want you to click your tongue that will tell Sunday to start walking. Guide her around the arena with your reins. Pull the left to make her go left, pull the right to make her go right. Keep your feet in the stirrups and your heels down. You’ll be fine!”

Summer nodded and clicked as she was told. Sunday took a step forward and began walking slowly around the outer ring of the arena.

She looked up at Dylan and he was smiling at her from the center, nodding and giving her a thumbs up.

“You’re doing great, Summer! Let Sunday know you’re relaxed and in control. You got this!”

She made a few more laps until she felt comfortable and Dylan taught her how to trot. She had gone from being clueless and terrified to feeling calm and was genuinely having a good time. It reached eleven in the morning and she barely noticed any time had passed.

“Let’s give Sunday a rest,” said Dylan.

“Your legs are gonna be a bit sore later anyway.”

They pulled Sunday back to her stall and Dylan stripped her of her saddle and bridle. He spoke kindly to the animal as if he was alone with her, Summer being a fly on the wall.

The fight to keep a slight growth of attraction for her stepbrother away was getting to be a bit harder.

Dylan locked up the stall and they began walking back to the house.

“If you’re up for it, we can go on a trail ride tomorrow. It sure beats riding around the arena over and over.”

“Yeah, I’d like to do that,” said Summer.

Dylan arranged for Summer to ride Sunday again, and he brought out a black horse named Cicero for himself. He geared up the horses and pointed out the trail in which they’d take for their ride.

“See back through those trees where the branches open up? That trail ends up by a small creek about two miles in. Sound good?” he asked.

Summer smiled and pulled herself onto Sunday.

“Yes, let’s go!”

Dylan took the lead and led Cicero to the trail, Summer and Sunday following close behind. The shaded path was cool and away from the dry Colorado sun.

The horse’s hooves clopped along the uneven dirt, and Summer inhaled the scent of the trees, relaxed and unaware of anything else in that moment. She was completely at peace.

She looked at Dylan ahead of her, his broad shoulders and firm torso titillating her imagination. She began to envision herself riding on the back of the horse with Dylan, her arms wrapped around his hips tenderly, resting her chin on his shoulder.

“Look ahead, Summer! There’s the creek!” he said, pulling her away from her fantasy.

A small trickle of water danced through the woods and babbled softly. Dylan and Summer dismounted their horses and tied the reins to nearby branches.

Dylan approached the water and scooped some up in his hand, throwing it over his face. He patted his skin dry and whistled.

“Some ice cold water to keep you going halfway through a ride!”

Summer walked up to him and sat down on a rock near the water. She took her shoes off and dipped her toes in. The water was brisk and awakening on her warm skin.

Dylan sat down next to her.

“Are you enjoying your first trail ride?” he asked.

“Yes,” she replied.

“Very much so. Thanks for teaching me.”

He looked into her eyes and bit his lip.

“It’s my pleasure. I enjoy sharing my passion with other people. Especially people who are willing to learn.”

As Summer tried to gather how she wanted to respond to Dylan, her tongue was paralyzed over her words. She was hypnotized by his large, playful eyes.

Before she could shake away her trance, Dylan leaned in and kissed her softly. His lips lingered a few moments before pulling away.