Dirty Stepbrother

by Alycia Taylor

“So early? But we haven’t even had coffee yet. And you know we both need coffee!”

  “We can make at work. Mr. Dalton is coming this morning. And I’d like to be there before he gets there.”

  Terra laughed. “You’re such a suck-up. But yeah, you’re right. Let’s go. Anyway, the coffee is better at work. I don’t know why we even bother with having here.”

  We made our way to work and arrived half an hour earlier than usual. Mr. Dalton arrived ten minutes before opening time, so we’d done the right thing. We were just making coffee when he walked in.

  “Wow, girls. You’re here early.”

  “We’re always here early. Best to get a nice start on the day before anyone comes in,” Terra said and smiled so brightly at Mr. Dalton that I almost believed her myself.

  “Yeah, we’re early birds,” I lied. “Nice to see you again Mr. Dalton. Would you like some coffee? I’m already making some for Terra and me, anyway.”

  “Coffee would be great. Do either of you ladies have some time this morning? I thought it would nice to sit down and have a talk about everything that’s been going on. I haven’t been in to see you in such a long time, so if you have any suggestions on improvements or any complaints you can let me know.”

  “Oh, we both have about an hour this morning until anyone comes in.”

  “Wonderful.”

  I finished up the coffee and took it over to the table where Terra and Mr. Dalton were already sitting. He spoke to me about my house and how awful the whole thing was, and then he said that he was going to up both our pay for everything that we’d been through.

  “But I haven’t been through anything,” Terra said.

  “Oh, but I can’t up Emily’s pay and not yours. You are both equal parts of this company. Do you know why the series Friends did so well for such a long time?”

  “Why?” I asked. I wished Mr. Dalton would come around more often. He always had funny and interesting anecdotes to tell.

  “Because one day they discovered that they were all getting paid differently. So they told the producers that they would not be part of the show unless all of them got equal pay. The producers gave in and said yes, and there were never any problems between them. They worked together seamlessly for ten seasons of the show.”

  I smiled. “That’s nice. I didn’t know that.”

  “Now, is there anything you want to talk to me about?”

  “Actually, there is something I wanted to mention. Something that we’re both not sure what to do about,” Terra said. Then she looked at me. “I’m sorry, Em, but we need to talk about it.”

  I groaned. I didn’t want to bring anything up with Mr. Dalton, and I’d asked her not to do the same. But Terra obviously thought she was doing this for my well-being. Mr. Dalton was looking at us expectedly, and I knew there was no going back.

  I sighed. “Okay, fine. Well, Mr. Dalton, do you know the little girl that comes here called Wendy? She’s the one with the scar on her mouth.”

  “Wendy, yes of course. Sweet little girl,” he said fondly.

  “She is. But her father, well, he’s not so sweet.”

  Mr. Dalton sat up straighter. “What do you mean? Has he done anything to you?”

  I shook my head. “No, no. Not really. He asked me out on a date a few weeks ago. I always thought he was a very nice man. He’s a good-looking guy and seems to really care for his daughter. But despite this, I didn’t feel anything for him. Not only that, but I had no interest in dating a patient’s father, especially when I didn’t see it going anywhere. Anyway, so I turned him down, and it was fine but a little awkward. The following week he asked me out again. He brought me chocolates and everything. I turned him down again. I was very polite and explained that I was looking to date at the moment. Anyway, a week later, he heard about my house, and he invited me to stay at his house. He said he had a spare room.”

  “And,” Terra interrupted, “I heard all three times from my office. He didn’t do it in a sweet way. Maybe the first time. But not the second or the third time. He was a little pushy and a whole lot creepy. I don’t know, Mr. Dalton, we just don’t feel very comfortable with him here.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Because of Wendy. I don’t want to tell him to stop coming because she’s the one that is going to suffer. I can’t do that to her.”

  “Do you think he is cause for concern, though?”

  “I’m not sure.” I looked at Terra and shrugged. “No, maybe not. Maybe we’re both just being paranoid. The good thing is that he only ever comes when his daughter is coming in. And he wouldn’t . . . do anything in front of her.”

  “That’s true. But still, I don’t like the thought of some creepy man here when the two of you are alone. Maybe I should look at installing a panic button or something.”

  “Yes! Great idea,” Terra said.

  I groaned. “A panic button. Oh no, I think that maybe I’m just being paranoid. I’m sure we don’t need to go to those lengths.”

  “Let me think about it, Emily. And will you both do me a favor and keep me updated on the situation? Is he coming in today?”

  “Not today. And yeah, we’ll definitely keep you updated. Thanks, Mr. Dalton. I’m glad we told you.”

  “I’m glad you told me too. It’s best not to keep things like this to yourself. The more people that know, the better. Then we can all keep a lookout for you.”

  Mr. Dalton stayed with us for another half an hour while we discussed the company and what the future held for us. He was a good man, and we knew how much he loved the company.

  “Now, before I go, I wanted to ask you both a serious question. And don’t just tell me what you think I want to hear. Tell me the truth. Are either of you planning on changing jobs?”

  “Changing jobs?” I exclaimed. “Why would we want to do that?” I had a sudden fear that he wanted us to leave. I wasn’t sure what I would do without this job. “You aren’t firing us, are you?” I said.

  “Firing you? Oh my goodness, not at all. That is the last thing I would do.”

  “Oh good,” I said in relief. “No, we have no plans to move.”

  “It’s important for me to know what the future of this company is going to be like. I’m thinking of expanding, but I’m not too sure yet. But I want to know if the core company—this one—is still going to include the two of you. You’re both young, and I know this might not be what you want to do forever.”

  “Are you kidding?” Terra said. “This is it for me. I love this job. Emily and I talk about it all the time. We don’t want anything else. I promise you, Mr. Dalton, you can be assured that we have no intentions of leaving this place.”

  “Me too. I have no plans of leaving. I love what I do. And the fact that I get to do it with my best friend makes it even better,” I said and smiled at Terra.

  Mr. Dalton beamed at us. “Oh, you have no idea how happy that makes me. I feel like I can relax now. I did the best thing when hiring the two of you. And you’ve both grown immensely while working here. You’re confident young women.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Dalton.”

  “Perhaps one day you’ll be the ones running this place.”

  Terra and I grinned at one another. We’d often spoken about her and I running the company when Mr. Dalton no longer wanted it. It had been our secret plan all along.

  “Okay, well, I better get going. Thanks for the coffee.”

  When he left, we both looked at each other chuckled.

  “Do we have the best boss, or what?” Terra said. “And hell yes for running this place. I’m telling you, that’s in our future one day. One day you and I will own this place.”

  “I know! I couldn’t believe it when he said it. Maybe you were right; maybe it will happen.”

  “It will.”

  “And he gave us both a raise! That was unexpected. I didn’t see that coming at all. And it’s come at the right time. My house is going to basically have no furniture.”

/>   “It’s great timing. How’s that whole story about the actors in Friends? I love it when he comes up with those things. Hey, listen, I’m sorry that I told him about Brett. I know you asked me not to say anything, but he made me really nervous the other day. And I sort of just blurted it out without planning too. I instantly felt bad when I did, though.”

  I sighed. “No, it’s okay. I was a little angry at first, but now I’m glad you said something. It’s good to have him on our side. You were right; we probably should have told him from the very start. And I know you just did that because you’re a good friend. I’m honestly not mad anymore.”

  “So, enough about creepy Brett. Let’s move on to sexy Grant. Dinner tonight again?”

  I grinned. “Yeah. I’m looking forward to it.”

  “I’m sure you are. Wow, you’re going on more dates than me at the moment. I’m impressed, Wessler! I’m impressed.”

  I chuckled. “It’s only the second date. And anyway, you went on one the other day. By the way, aren’t you supposed to be seeing him again?”

  She sighed. “Yeah, he called. But I’m not sure. I’ll see.”

  “You don’t sound too sure.”

  “That’s the thing. I’m not. I look at you and Grant, and I can see that there is something between you guys. And you’ve only had one date. I didn’t feel that with him at all. I’m just not sure a second date is going to change any of that. I want to feel something amazing when I’m with a guy.”

  I smiled as I thought of Grant. “And you’ll find that. You’re right; there’s no point if you’re not feeling it. Although, maybe go on one more date, even if it’s just as a friend, and then decide from there.”

  “I think I’ll do that. So, what are you wearing tonight?”

  “I don’t know! Will you help me?”

  “Of course I will. Ooh, I think I have just the thing for you.”

  Later that evening, I took a shower and stood with my towel in front of my closet. I’d lost a lot of clothes with the fire, and while I’d done a bit of shopping, I was still repeating the same outfits over and over again. It would take a long time to rebuild what I had before. When Terra walked in, I was sitting on the bed feeling hopeless about the situation.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked me.

  “I have nothing to wear.” I felt like a fool saying it out loud. I didn’t want to be that sort of girl. I wanted to be grateful that I wasn’t the one in the house the day it caught on fire. Instead, I was sitting around crying that I had nothing to wear for my date.

  “Oh, Em—I said I had something for you; remember? Come with me.”

  I followed her into her bedroom and she took out a beautiful blue dress. It looked light and summery and exactly the sort of thing I’d buy had I seen it at the shop. I liked that it wasn’t too dressy, or too casual either.

  “Oh, it’s beautiful. But I don’t know if I’m going to fit in it. I mean, you’re tiny.”

  “Nonsense,” she said. “So are you. Have you looked in the mirror lately? Anyway, this is the type of dress that would flatter a few different shapes. It’s got this tight part underneath, and then this softer material on top.”

  “Oh, that’s cool. Okay, let me try it on. But . . . are you sure?”

  “Of course I’m sure. When I bought this dress, I thought of you immediately. It’s more you than me, anyway. And if it fits, you can have it.”

  I pulled the dress over my head and looked in the mirror. She was right. It fit me perfectly. And it was by far the most comfortable dress I’d ever been in. I grinned at her.

  “I love it.”

  “Then it’s yours.”

  “Terra! Are you sure?”

  She grinned. “I’m sure. Now, no more tears. You have a date with a handsome man.”

  I fixed my hair and put a little bit of makeup on and then popped on some low-heeled shoes. I knew that an outfit didn’t make a person, but it was to at least feel pretty for the evening ahead. I always felt like I could handle life a lot more when I felt good about myself.

  “Terra to the rescue!” I said. “Thanks again. I feel ready for the date now.”

  “Are you nervous?”

  “Not really. I mean, knowing that we don’t have a house to go back to actually makes the whole thing a lot less nerve-wracking.”

  “What do you mean? Why?”

  “Well, it means that we can’t go back to my house or to his house. Nothing can happen, so all I have to do is go out and have a good time.”

  “Uh huh,” she said.

  When I looked at her, she was grinning. “Why are you smiling like that?” I asked.

  But I didn’t have time to question her further because just as she was about to say something, the doorbell rang.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Grant

  “Enjoy the big date tonight!” Brady yelled as I made my way out the door.

  “Thanks, Shotgun,” I said.

  He laughed. “You know, I haven’t been called that in such a long time. It’s so weird having you say that name all the time. It sounds weird here, doesn’t it? Like ever since I’ve moved away from Arizona, I’ve been Brady.”

  “Yeah,” I said as I turned around to face him. “I know what you mean. I feel the same when you call me Patriot. But I can’t help it, man. No matter where we are or what we do, you’ll always be Shotgun to me. Even if I refer to you as Brady to other people, you’re still Shotgun in my head. It’s a brother thing,” I smiled.

  “It’s the one part of the motorcycle club that I actually don’t mind, you know. Well, have a great night, Patriot,” he said and grinned at me.

  I walked out feeling good about the conversation. It was the first time he’d managed to talk about the motorcycle club without freaking out. For a brief second, I thought he was going to ask me to stop calling him by his nickname. I was glad that he hadn’t. And I was glad that he hadn’t started an argument me on my way out to see Emily. I was in a good mood, and I planned for it to stay that way.

  I got to Terra’s house and knocked on the door. When Emily answered, I was completely taken aback by her appearance. She’d looked beautiful every time I’d seen her, but today she looked spectacular. She was wearing a soft blue dress that made her blue eyes shine brighter, and the material seemed to flow around her body as she walked. Her hair was up and tied high so that her long ponytail moved from side to side as she walked. She took my breath away. Emily was one of the only women I’d ever met that had to do so little to look so incredibly gorgeous. Even without makeup or heels, she was stunning.

  I cleared my throat when I realized I was staring.

  “You look so beautiful tonight, Emily.”

  She blushed, and it only made her look prettier.

  “Thank you. It’s good to see you again.”

  We were just about to leave when Terra came running out. My immediate thought was that she was going to say something to stop us from going out. And I could see that Emily thought the same thing. But we were very wrong. Terra was beaming when she walked out, and Emily was looking at her with a curious look on her face.

  “Hi, Terra. It’s good to see you again. Thanks for letting me take Emily for the night,” I said, and I shook her hand.

  “Good to see you again, too,” she said and shook back. She had a very firm handshake for someone so small. “Listen, I have a favor to ask of the two of you, if you don’t mind?”

  “A favor? Sure, what’s up?” I said. I looked at Emily and I could see that she had no idea what Terra was about to say either.

  “Well, I have to stay at my mother’s tonight. She’s invited me over, and I’m spending the night. I’ll only be back late tomorrow. It was a last-minute thing. She just called a little while ago. Sorry, Em, I was going to tell you, but we got caught up in other things. Anyway, I just wanted to ask if you wouldn’t mind coming in to check the house when you get back from dinner.”

  “What do you mean?” Emily asked. “I can do that. I
’m sleeping here, anyway, remember? I’ll make sure everything is okay when I get home.”

  “Yeah, but with everything that has happened recently, I’d feel safer knowing that Grant has come in to check it out too. Just a quick check around the house.”

  “Oh, that’s not necessary,” Emily said, and I noticed that she had gone bright red.

  “Only if you don’t mind, Grant. I’d really appreciate it,” Terra said to me and completely ignored the looks Emily was giving her.

  I tried not to laugh. “Of course I don’t mind checking on the house.”

  “Thank you. Such a gentleman. Well, have a great night, you two. I’m heading over to my mother’s soon.” Terra was practically whistling as she walked back into the house.

  Emily’s face was still red by the time we got into the car, but I decided not to point it out. Otherwise we’d get into the discussion as to why she was feeling embarrassed about me being in a house all alone with her. But I liked the fact that she was feeling so shy about it. And I liked that Terra was going out of her way to give us some alone time.

  “She seems nice,” I said to Emily as I started the car. I decided that I really liked this Terra girl now. She clearly had our best interests at heart.

  I turned to see that Emily was grinning, but she was still not looking at me in the eye. “She is,” Emily said.

  I took Emily to another place recommended by Brady. This time it was a small restaurant called Buffalo, which apparently sold the most amazing burgers. When she saw where we were going, she grinned.

  “Oh, I love this place.”

  “Darn, I was hoping you hadn’t been,” I said.

  She laughed. “Good luck with that. We’d have to drive pretty far. I’m still amazed that you managed to take me to a new place the first time. It’s small here. It doesn’t take long to know your way around. But I don’t mind at all; I haven’t been here in ages, and they make the best burgers ever!”

  I laughed at her enthusiasm. “That’s what I’ve been told. So, this place is called Buffalo and the other place was called Wyo. Is every place around here named after the area?”