Romance: Yes, Stepbrother!

by Annie Valentine

  Their kiss was an outpouring of sincere affection and devotion that neither woman could’ve possibly shared with a man. They simply didn’t understand the nuances of passion and love the way that women did.

  Chapter Four

  “What is there to eat?” That was the first thing that Jake said every single morning.

  Tricia looked back and stifled a giggle when she saw that his hair was sticking straight up at the top on one side. “Guess I’ll have to go get something.”

  “No. I’ll go.” Nicole chimed in. She turned back to Jake, “Do you want to come with me?”

  “I guess.” The way he drew out the last word said that that was the last thing he wanted to do.

  Tricia didn’t like it. One moment they were so close and as soon as he entered the room, Nicole was making her escape. They should’ve still been at that place with the afterglow, where they wanted to be with each other every single second. Instead, Nicole went to go cuddle with him as soon as they got in the house. She didn’t even say good night.

  It gave Tricia a sick feeling, and she didn’t like it. She was supposed to be enthralled with her now. That was the way the young ones were unless they were dealing with something they simply couldn’t find attractive, but they’d shared that beautiful moment. How could she deny that? Yet, in her body language, the way she looked away, the way she sat farther away, she was being awkward.

  Tricia didn’t want awkward. What she needed was innocence and carnal passion. She didn’t want anything more than that, but it might be nice to know that Nicole enjoyed it and that she enjoyed her. She was being fragile maybe, but she needed that now and Nicole, more than anyone, knew that. Tricia was feeling green envy and rejection.

  When they left, she slammed against the bed and waited. She still had to get the car. Maybe when she got it she would kick them out or let them stay for a while.

  While there were no real memories there, he was still all around her. He’d bought everything in the place including the bed that she was sleeping on. Rick’s clothes were in the closet and he had a pair of muddy boots next to the door.

  He wasn’t going to drive her out, and neither were they. She couldn’t let anyone get her down again. Tricia was her own person, and she had to learn to live independently of other people and the only way to do that was to keep from giving them power over her. The minute she reacted to their behavior, she was giving up a little bit of control over herself, and that was the last thing she needed to be doing.

  She sat up and decided to start clearing everything out. She started with the shoes. They were disgusting and covered in sand. She picked them up and took them outside. She stood on the edge of the rope wall that separated the house from the cliff and looked down at the water. She was ending this once and for all. Nobody would ever hurt her again. She threw the shoes over the cliff in a ritualistic sort of cleansing. She grabbed a trash bag and put all the clothes, all the pictures and mementos, anything that reminded her of him, she threw it all over the cliff.

  When she was done, she grabbed a rag and started cleaning. That was her way of making the place her own. Once she knew every tiny stain and blemish in the house, she would own it.

  By the time they were back, she had Abba playing on the stereo and she was running around rearranging things. “Hey, she shouted from the kitchen. Just bring the bags in here and set them down on the counter.”

  “We got a whole bunch of stuff, Trish. I wasn’t sure if you had much so we got you enough to last a while. Are you planning on staying?” Nicole was sitting on a stool in front of the bar.

  “I think so.” She’d decided about halfway through her frenzy. “I like it. It’s mine and it’s the easiest way I know to get something quick. Besides, I hate renting.”

  Jake had a sports drink and a candy bar and he set them down on the clean counter. “It’d be pretty awesome to live her. I’m jealous.” He looked around, assessing the entire setup like he was deciding where he was going to put the sound system.

  “Well, I ‘m going to make the best of it.” She looked over at the massive mound of paper bags that they’d brought in. “So what’s for breakfast?”

  “Omelets.” Jake had a way of raising his eyebrows and smiling just right that made both of the girls smile. He pulled out bell peppers, spinach, mushrooms, several kinds of chilies and different kinds of breakfast meats. “I got everything we need to make at least one Omelet.” He had a pallet of eggs in his hand. The girls laughed.

  Jake grabbed a stick of butter and started going through the drawers to find a spatula. Tricia grabbed some vegetables for Nicole to chop up and started whisking the eggs. They worked seamlessly together like one machine. The trio each had their perfect Omelets. Jake loved the peppers and the sausage. Tricia had a little bit of ham and mushrooms folded with goat cheese and spinach in the middle, and Nicole wanted a simple spinach omelet with some mushrooms inside. It was a good time. They worked silently and said nothing more than how much they loved their food.

  Jake ran up when he was done and washed off his dish then went to go shower. The girls were alone again and it was a little awkward. Nicole was tense and Tricia could sense it, but Nicole could sense that she was watching her and it only made things worse. Tricia simply didn’t want to fall away from somebody she’d just connected with. Nicole got up and walked into her room, and Tricia felt the urge to follow. Instead, she sat down and watched TV so she could wait for Jake to come out so she could get going.

  Her thoughts drifted back to Nicole, though. She wanted to confide in her and be her friend. She didn’t want a lover, but Nicole clearly thought otherwise. It was strange how just a little bit of her body language told her so much. They were connected on that level after more than a year of talking on the phone, studying the subtle nuances of their lives and their mannerisms and then the drama that had ensued after they met—it bound them to one another. It wasn’t romantic, and Tricia simply couldn’t impress that on her enough. She had to find a way to get through to her.

  She decided to go out and watch the waves for a while so she could think. She got on her sandals and a wide brimmed hat and made her way out to the beach. She spread out a towel and let herself fade out. She lay down and started letting her sweet drowsy state wash over her and bring her away from her manic thoughts and depression.

  Then she heard the sand crunching nearby and the boy sitting next to her. “She just gets that way, you know. It’s OK, Tricia. I don’t mind what happened, but she’s worried how it’ll affect things.”

  “She told you?” Tricia sat up and looked at him. He was wearing short shorts and his bare, well-formed chest was dripping with water and sunscreen. She wanted to lean forward and kiss every single inch. Maybe she was looking for the love she’d been looking for when she met Rick.

  “She came to her room crying and hugged me as hard as she could. She was freaking out over it. I didn’t care. I thought she was being dramatic.” That was the most she’d ever heard him reveal.

  “Well at least you’re not bothered by it.”

  “Well, in a way it bothers me.” He reached down and groped his long cock and she reached out and took a firm grip on it. She couldn’t do that. It would crush Nicole. Tricia pulled back. She was ashamed of what she’d just done and from the way he scooted away, she could tell that he was too, but it wasn’t wrong if Nicole did it. It was different for girls. When you cheat, it’s with a guy.

  They made their way awkwardly up the stairs and went their separate ways to get dressed for the trip to Rick’s. Tricia wasn’t looking forward to it, but she was distracted by the sight of Nicole crying on her bed.

  “Nicole,” Tricia came and sat down by her, and when she went to put her arm around her the girl pulled back.

  “Get away from me. You’re the other woman. That’s what you are. You steal boyfriends and girlfriends.”

  Tricia got up to get her clothes. This wasn’t about her. There was drama here and she was being over dramatic.
“He doesn’t care and I haven’t stolen your boyfriend.”

  “You want to,” Nicole sobbed. “I’ve seen the way you look at him. You want him.” She sniffed and sat up. “We’re leaving before you destroy our relationship.”

  “I’m not going to have sex with Jake!” Tricia was dressed and ready to go. She stormed out of the room and Jake was waiting outside. They both looked at each other and Jake rolled his eyes.

  “It’s fine Nicky. I want you over it by the time we get back, and so help me god I you convince yourself I cheated I will take the car and drive home.” There was no noise from the room until they were out the door and they heard the door slam. She was running out with tears streaming down her face.

  “You’re not going alone.” She got in the passenger side and slammed the door.

  Jake looked like he was going to punch her when he got in the driver’s side and waited silently. When she stood her ground, he sighed and said, “You need to get over it. In fact, I’m not letting you go. We’re gonna stay here until you get out of the car and work out your own crap. I’m not dealing with it.”

  She sat there silently while they all waited. The tension in the air was an electric storm passing through all of them. She simply wouldn’t budge and neither would they. “Nicole, you need to stop. You can’t put him in this position. You have to trust him, and you know you can trust me. You do know that deep down. Now I want my car and I don’t want to live in her forever so get out.”

  Tricia stormed out of the car and they were out of the driveway in seconds.

  Chapter Five

  Jake was clearly distraught by the scenario. “She’s just gonna have to learn to get over it. I only did it because I don’t want her to think that she can follow me around to make sure my dicks in my pants.”

  “You did the right thing.” They made their way to the house silently until they were about a block away. “It’s Saturday,” Tricia said, “He’s home. He was going to go out of town but I know him. He’s throwing a hissy fit right now.” She reached into her purse and grabbed the gun. Jake looked at it like it was a nuclear bomb. “Do you know how to aim?”

  “Yeah. I do, but I’m not taking it.”

  “He has more. Where do you think I got this?”

  “It doesn’t matter. If I use it, I’m going to jail.”

  Tricia laughed. “That’s never a certainty. Just get out of there quickly and it won’t be a problem. They won’t even chase you down in the city. They don’t do manhunts for this right away. They don’t have the manpower.” She looked over and he opened the door and left. He wasn’t going to take it. That boy was too stubborn for his own good, but he had a way of doing it so that it didn’t cause trouble. She sat patiently for a while, knowing that he would have to walk over and get the car then drive it over, but after about twenty minutes, she started to worry. It wasn’t hot in the car, the AC was on. She decided to take the gun herself and figure out what was taking so long.

  She ran out to the house. She’d promised herself she’d never go back there again, but there was with the familiar surroundings bringing her back to the state that she’d been in. These were the places she’d always run through. She was running through them now, but with a different purpose. He could be in trouble. When she saw it, she shrank back a bit.

  Jake was nowhere to be seen. She walked up the driveway and looked over to the front door. It was wide open, but there was nobody there. Her heart was beating. The gun was like a piece of lead sticking out of her bag. The adrenaline was pumping as she walked closer to the door. She was flowing with furious energy as she took it out of the bag and hid to the right of the door. She had the gun in her hand when she pointed it through, then she ducked in to see what was going on.

  She rushed in when she saw Jake hogtied on the floor with a pillowcase stuffed in his mouth. The instant she stepped inside she heard the click and the gun was right on her. “Is this what you left me for? A little boy? He’s a child, Tricia.”

  She mustered up her courage. She had to tell him. “I’m not with him, Rick. He just helped me get out of here. I left because of the way you treated me.”

  “Hah, treated you? Woman, you had it good. You had a roof over your head and a man that put up with your crap. You threw it away and now you have to pay.” He cocked the gun and she braced herself.

  Jake turned over to watch and Tricia saw a bit of hope between his hands. He pulled it up and Rick fell to the ground. “Is that OK?” Tricia didn’t know what to think. She didn’t say anything. Her instincts kicked in immediately. She stored it away for later and tried not to think of the body behind her. She just walked over and undid the roped then ran out with him following closely behind her.

  They got in her silver sedan and started driving as fast as they could. Her brakes squealed when they pulled up to her car and she squeezed his hand when he got out and ran over to it. They followed each other closely, like two bodies refusing to separate. She couldn’t think about it, but his pale lifeless body flashed in front of her every single time she blinked. Could it have been avoided? Was there anything she could’ve done differently to save him? She just hoped that she would be OK, and that nobody would find out that it was him. If the cops came, they would know for sure that they were involved. It was the only logical conclusion. She would have to disappear.

  That’s what she would do. She would leave and go on with her life. If she got far enough away, this couldn’t follow her. She’d just hit the gas and let the pavement roll by. It couldn’t be that hard—could it?

  She simply didn’t know how those things worked. She would just have to work out her uncertain future as it passed her by. She could say she was on a vacation with the kids and that she was visiting with her daughter in law. It looked easy enough and there was no evidence otherwise. They might even believe her.

  Tricia held onto that thought as she made her way down the highway. She could see it ahead when she took the turn off. Would this house be her demise, or would it be her shelter? That was yet to be determined at this point, and she realized that she didn’t care. She’d just gotten out of a different kind of prison and they couldn’t take that away even if they put her in another one, but the boy had to be spared. He was innocent in the whole thing. They would hold him accountable and maybe even lock him up.

  There was one thing that she could do, and it would probably work. She held onto that and it kept her going even until she passed out in the soft bed.

  Chapter Six

  The sharp rap on her bedroom door was a cold reminder of the sick feeling passing over her mind and her entire body. She’d had dreams of phantom apparitions shimmering in the darkness screaming their despair into the night. His face was stamped on everything. It was burned to the back of her skull. She put on her best face and got up to open the door.

  It was happening. A bald white man in his mid-thirties was staring down at her with a stern face. “Tricia Coleman?”

  She stood silently. If she didn’t acknowledge her identity, he might just go away.

  “Are you Tricia Coleman?” His voice was far too authoritative. How dare this pig come into her personal space and confront her. He didn’t know what happened, and he didn’t care. He was a thug with a gun.

  “Yes.”

  “We found your husband, Rick Coleman dead at your house. Come out into the living room so I can ask you some questions.”

  They sat down and worked out what they were going to say when they got home. She told them that they were simply on a vacation at the beach house and they hadn’t left the entire time except for when they went to the grocery store to get food. It made sense considering the fact that the place was practically a resort.

  She walked deliberately into the room and sat down on the white couch across from the officer who was sitting in a white wicker chair. He wanted her to be comfortable. They planned everything out.

  “Would you like to tell me where you’ve been the past six hours? Start at the begi
nning.”

  “We made omelets then I went down to the beach and then I went to take a nap.” She kept her eyes on him. She didn’t know how to do this or what to look for so she decided to be as aware as possible of her responses and his line of questioning. She might be able to spot his tactics and respond correctly if she knew what he was doing.

  “Right. Why don’t you tell me where you really were?” His tone was mocking. He was trying to evoke a defensive response, and if she responded in the way he wanted her to, he could say she was lying. It was cheap entrapment, which showed off the departments need to find a scapegoat.

  She kept her tone neutral and said, “That’s where I was, officer.”

  “Uh huh,” he was going to continue his tactic for a bit so she simply rose her eyebrows and gave him a no nonsense look.

  “I’m not lying to you.” She was coolly dismissing what he was doing to prove that he was mistaken.

  He reached into the pocket on his tight khakis. He wasn’t satisfied in the least, but he couldn’t get a warrant without a good reason and he didn’t have probable cause. He had a dead end investigation with no way of closing it. Instead, he handed her a card and said, “If you figure anything out, give us a call.” He wrestled himself out of the chair and left without saying another word. He needed a good slap to the face.

  Tricia was starting to sweat so she made her way back to bed so she really could get some sleep. Her mind needed rest to sort through what had happened and the only way she was going to get it was if she got some sleep in. She was, however, satisfied that the danger from the police was gone.