Dirty Stepbrother - A Firefighter Romance (The Maxwell Family)

by Alycia Taylor

  Saved his life from what? I wanted to know but didn’t want to ask. If he’d wanted to tell me, he would’ve. I just nodded and told him that it was a place that could save anyone’s life. “There’s something about it,” I said.

  “Yeah, there certainly is. Although I didn’t expect you to like it so much.”

  I thought about throwing back a retort about how he shouldn’t judge people so quickly, but it seemed pointless. Also, he was absolutely right. I’m sure everyone thought that about me. “Yeah, neither did I,” I said honestly.

  “So, you don’t miss all the shopping? How about all the fancy restaurants?” he asked.

  I shot him a look. “No. Okay, I miss my big bed. And I do miss my shower. But that’s about it. Maybe it’s because I know I’m not going to be here forever. I don’t know. But I definitely don’t hate it as much as I thought I would.”

  “I’m glad to hear that. Can’t say I’d say the same about city life. But who knows. I could be wrong. A big shower and an oversized bed don't sound all that bad to me.”

  I laughed. “It’s wonderful. So, tell me about this rodeo. Do you do it often?”

  “I only started getting into it recently, actually. Well, for the past year or so. I love it. It’s definitely not something I ever saw myself doing, but turns out I quite enjoy it.”

  I actually didn’t know all that much about rodeos. I made a mental note to look it up before going so that I didn’t make too much of a fool of myself on the day. “I don’t know much about it, but from what I know it does sound a bit dangerous.”

  “I suppose it can be. But it’s worth putting yourself at risk sometimes for things that you enjoy.”

  I looked at him then and grinned. “I suppose so. I don’t see myself ever wanting to do bull riding, though. I’d think I’d be pretty bad at it.”

  “Yeah, it’s definitely not for everyone. That’s for sure. I’m glad you’re coming next week to see it. I think you’ll enjoy it. Also, my friend Trace will be there, and he’ll be glad to have someone to show off in front of. Oh dear, I just remembered that you are a famous actress,” he said and shook his head.

  I laughed. “And why does that matter?”

  “Well, I guess it doesn’t. You’ve just slipped into the role of a Wyoming cowgirl like a hand into a glove. It makes me forget that you’re someone famous.”

  “And you haven’t actually seen any of my movies, so that probably helps,” I teased.

  He looked guilty. “Sorry. That’s true.”

  “So, what does me being famous have to do with anything?”

  “Oh, you’ll know when you meet Trace. He’s going to go ballistic when he sees that I brought you along. He’s a great guy, but a bit of a showoff. And he has quite a thing for pretty ladies.”

  “Are you calling me pretty?” I said and battered my eyelashes at him dramatically.

  “I’m calling you no such thing.”

  I chuckled. “I’m going to just pretend that you did, then.”

  “Fine. I did,” he said, and we both laughed. “So, no rodeo for you. I wouldn’t want you to damage your money maker.”

  “Is that what you’re calling my face? My money maker? That’s funny. I’m not sure if it’s an insult, though.”

  “It’s a compliment. Trust me,” he said.

  “Okay, well thank you. So, no bull riding for me. That’s a promise. But I do think I could take you on in a horse race.” I wasn’t even sure why I said that. There was no way that I could actually beat Brady in a horse race. He’d been riding them for years. But it was fun to tease him.

  “You do? Uh, you do realize that I’ve been riding for many years, while you’ve been riding for like a week.”

  “Yeah, but I have the beautiful Betty on my side. And that puts me slightly ahead of the game. Betty and I have formed quite the bond. You see, no matter how close you are with her, you can never be as close as I am. She senses that I’m a woman.”

  “Betty and I have been partners for a very long time. I don’t think she’d move on to someone else so quickly.”

  “What’s wrong? Are you scared?” I teased.

  “Scared? Of a race with you? Certainly not.”

  “Well, let’s race, then.”

  “Are you sure you want to make a fool of yourself like this?” he said.

  “There’s nobody watching, anyway. And yeah, I’m sure.”

  “Well, okay, then. I’ll race you. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  “And if I win, you have to take me out for dinner in town,” I added.

  He chuckled. “Is that so? I’m afraid there won’t be any dinners in your future.”

  “Ha! Bring it on. And make sure your wallet is full. I’m starving. Okay, so where are we racing to?” I asked.

  “Hmm, okay, you see that tree on the right? That massive one with the two little ones next to it? Well, let’s race to there.”

  I looked out at the trees in the distance and smiled. “Oh, you’re on,” I said. Then I patted Betty and told her to make me proud.

  “Ready, in three, two, one, GO!” Brady yelled.

  For a few seconds he was in front of me, and I laughed and told Betty to go faster. I was surprised at how good it felt to be racing on the back of a galloping horse. I didn’t feel scared at all, and at that moment, I felt completely confident that Betty wouldn’t throw me off. Then, right at the end, Betty took the lead, and we made it to the trees just before Brady. It was obvious that he had let me win, but I decided to pretend as if he hadn’t. I wasn’t sure if he wanted me to win because he felt sorry for me, or because he just wanted to take me out for dinner. I was hoping it was the latter.

  “You shouldn’t have been so cocky!” I said as we stopped.

  He chuckled. “My sincere apologies. You win!”

  “Good job, Betty girl,” I said and leaned in to hug her.

  Afterward we made our way back to the barn, and I hopped off Betty and helped put her back inside. I gave her something to eat and then kissed her goodbye.

  “That was fun,” I said to Brady. “Thanks for showing me around today.” Then I looked at Betty, “And thanks for being such an awesome girl.”

  “No problem at all. You’re probably right about Betty, you know. She seems to have taken quite a liking to you. Thanks for forcing me to have a day off.”

  “Why do I get a feeling you don’t do that very often?” I asked.

  He smiled. “Well, you’d be right, but usually I don’t have any reason to have a day off.”

  I grinned and leaned forward to kiss him on the cheek.

  “Well, I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

  “Tomorrow?” he asked.

  “I won, remember? You owe me a dinner in the city. Pick me up at six, please. And don’t be late,” I said and then turned around before he could say anything else.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Brady

  It was exactly six when I arrived at Sloan’s hotel to pick her up. I thought she’d be waiting outside, but when she wasn’t, I decided to find her in her room. I knocked on the door, and when she opened it, she seemed surprised.

  “Brady, hi.”

  I smiled at her. For the past week, I’d seen Sloan in her cowgirl clothes. She’d been relaxed and comfortable, and nothing like the woman I had first met. Now, she was wearing the same blue dress that I’d first seen her in. The only difference was that she wasn’t wearing heels. Instead, she had on sneakers. The contrast between the smart dress and the casual shoes took me by surprise. I liked it.

  “Sorry for coming here, but you weren’t outside. And you were the one that told me to be here exactly at six and not to be late.”

  She chuckled. “Sorry, old habits I guess. I’m ready, let me get my bag and my coat. You can come in so long.”

  “You look beautiful, by the way. That’s the dress you wore the first time I saw you.”

  She seemed taken aback by that. “Oh wow, you actually remember that?”
r />   “I only remember because I thought it was the most ridiculous outfit to wear out at the ranch.”

  Her face fell. “You think I look ridiculous.”

  “Not now!” I said quickly. “You look incredible. And we’re going for dinner, we’re not going horse riding. So this time I don’t think you look ridiculous at all. Also, I like your shoes.”

  She chuckled. “I’ve gotten used to not wearing heels. I figured I’d enjoy it a bit longer. When I get back to New York, I won’t be able to get away with dressing like this.”

  “Why not? It looks amazing. It looks edgy.”

  “It does? Thanks, Brady.”

  I chuckled. “Also, I don’t think I’ve ever used the word edgy before. Did I even say it right?”

  She laughed. “You did. You see, you’re becoming more of a New Yorker now that you’re hanging out with me. We’re balancing each other out.”

  I looked around at the hotel room. I knew the area well, but I hadn’t been to many of the hotels before. So far, I just hadn’t felt a need to. I had expected her hotel room to be large, and I’d assumed she’d be one of those messy people that had no regard for her things. In my mind that was how I expected most rich people to act. But her room was modest, and very well kept. I barely saw anything out of place, and when she opened the closet for her coat, I saw that everything was neat and in its place. She caught me looking and frowned at me.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “Nothing,” I said. “It’s a nice room.”

  “It is, isn’t it? And I’m actually getting used to the bed,” she said and grinned.

  “So, ready to go?”

  “I’m ready. Where are we going by the way?”

  “I thought I’d take you one of the oldest restaurants in Wyoming. It was closed for a few years, but it reopened about a year or two ago. The entire restaurant has been fashioned to look like a barn. It has these wooden walls and hay bales for seats, and there is no electrical light inside. Only candlelight. It’s really nice.”

  “Sounds amazing,” she said as we walked back to the car.

  When we arrived, she looked up at the name and chuckled. “Wyo. I love it.”

  “Yeah, it works, doesn’t it? I thought it was super cheesy when I first heard it, but I don’t think so anymore.”

  “I like it. It’s . . . edgy,” she said, and we both laughed.

  We walked in and gave our name to the front desk, and then made my way to our table. I looked around and smiled. The place was great, and the candles gave it a very romantic feel. Also, the smell coming from the kitchen was making me incredibly hungry. I hadn’t been to a restaurant in such a long time. I’d forgotten what it was like. “Wow, it’s actually really nice here,” I said.

  She looked at me in confusion. “You sound surprised. I thought you’d been here before. I mean, you described it to me exactly like this. Haven’t you been here?”

  “Oh, yeah, well . . . okay, my brother goes here all the time. I have been, but it was years ago. I’ve just heard a lot about it from everyone.”

  “Why do I get the feeling that you don’t go out much?” she asked.

  I smiled. “Because I don’t.”

  “Any reason in particular?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t really see the point, to be honest. I enjoy being at home. And well, I just haven’t found anyone worth going out for.”

  She beamed at me. “You know, you can be incredibly nice when you want to be.”

  “Aren’t I always nice?”

  “No.”

  I burst out laughing. “Okay, well that’s an honest answer at least.”

  “But when you are nice, you’re really nice. You actually confuse me quite a bit,” she said.

  “I confuse you? Uh, I think you’ll find that it’s the other way around.” It was actually something that I’d been thinking a lot about lately. I remembered how much I had hated her the first time I’d met her. How she’d assumed I simply wanted her autograph and how she’d walked around in those silly high heels that dug into the dirt. But then, there was this other side to her. And that was so completely different from that girl, it was almost like I had dealt with two separate people.

  “What do you mean? I’m not confusing,” she said. “What you see is what you get with me.”

  “Oh yes, you are. You’re the most confusing person I’ve ever met. I can’t really figure you out. One minute, you come across like a complete diva—no offense—and the next minute, you’re the sweetest, most down-to-earth woman around. What I see is not always what I get.”

  A strange looked crossed her face, then she nodded. “I guess I don’t really know who I am sometimes either. But I could say the same thing about you, you know. Open and talkative one minute, and closed up and closed mouthed the next.”

  “We’re both quite the mess then, aren’t we?”

  She chuckled. “Sounds like it. Oh well, we can be contradictory together,” she said, and I realized I quite liked the sound of that.

  “Yeah, life is confusing. It’s not our fault. I blame the rest of the world. All those people who have it all figured out. All those people who are so completely put together. They’re the weirdoes.”

  “Or,” she said. “They’re the liars. At least we’re open about our confusion.”

  When our wine arrived, we both lifted up our glasses.

  “To being weird.”

  “To being confused.”

  When the waiter returned to see what we wanted to order we were both still laughing. Neither one of us had even opened our menus. There was so much to choose from that I felt overwhelmed. I’d never been good at making decisions, and I didn’t go out to restaurants often enough to know what I should or shouldn’t eat.

  “Do you recommend anything?” I asked the waiter.

  “Well, we’re known for our pizzas. We have a special Wyo pizza that comes with locally sourced bacon and cheese. It’s also topped with a special sweet chili sauce that’s made by my wife. It’s really something.”

  “Sounds amazing. I’ll take one of those,” I said. Then I looked at Sloan and waited for her to order a salad.

  She surprised me by closing the menu, and smiling at the waitress. “I’ll take one, too. Sounds incredible. And honestly, I don’t feel like choosing. Everything sounds so nice.”

  She took a sip of wine and then looked at me. “Why are you staring at me like that? Is there something on my face?” Her hand immediately flew to her face.

  I laughed. “Yeah, something on your chin,” I said.

  She felt her chin. “Is it gone?”

  “It’s on your cheek now?”

  “What? What is it?” she said and touched her cheek. Then she glared at me. “You’re making this up.”

  I chuckled. “Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. No, there’s nothing on your face.”

  “So, why were you looking at me like that?”

  “Well, you can’t blame me for being surprised. You just ordered a pizza.”

  “Yeah? What’s wrong with that? You heard the waiter. He said it was delicious. And that menu was way too big for me to choose from.”

  “I agree with you. But I still didn’t expect you to choose the pizza. I thought you were going to go for the salad or something. Not so long ago I had to convince you eat a tiny piece of bread. What happened?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. Wyoming happened, I guess.”

  “Well, I’m glad to hear it. Anyway, you’re doing so much work out here, and so much riding, that you can afford to eat a pizza a day and probably not even notice it. Trust me; I am one of the biggest eaters you’ll ever meet. I’ll eat this large pizza and still wonder what’s for dessert. I just don’t worry because I work hard. Also, I don’t really care too much what other people think about me. If they’re going to judge me for what I eat, then I don’t really want to be friends with them in the first place.”

  “I like the way you think,” she said. “I even had a cr
oissant yesterday for breakfast. The waiter was just as surprised as you were. I normally eat an apple for breakfast. Sometimes, half an apple.”

  I chuckled. “Living life on the edge, eh,” I teased.

  “Hey, don’t mock me. I know it sounds crazy to someone like you, but it’s a whole different world out there. This really is life on the edge for someone like me. I know you can’t understand it. But when you’re an actress, you basically have the whole world watching your every move. It’s not always easy when you’re constantly being judged. And yeah, I know, it’s a life I chose, but still, it’s not as easy as you think it is. It’s hard, Brady.”

  I was taken aback by her words and wondered what or who had made her so angry at the world. I wondered why she was an actress when the lifestyle didn’t seem to suit her at all.

  “I’m sure it’s not easy,” I said. “And I’m not judging you, Sloan. Trust me; I’m not judging you at all. I was honestly just teasing you. I’m a man who lives by himself and who barely talks to anyone at all. I couldn’t imagine having people on my back all the time. I know it comes with the territory, like you say, but it can’t be easy. And I’m sure you just want some privacy at times.”

  “Ah,” she said and shrugged it off. “I shouldn’t complain. In a lot of ways, it’s a very easy life.”

  “Do you have any siblings?” I asked. I suddenly realized that I knew very little about her life.

  But just like I sometimes did with her, she shrugged off the question. “Nah. I couldn’t imagine growing up with four brothers like you did. Do you see any of them other than the one that lives next door?”

  “Actually, my brother Ryan called. He’s the MMA fighter.”

  “Wait, let me guess . . . Knuckles!” she said.

  I laughed. “Yeah! Hey, he’s coming to visit soon. If you’re still around, you have to call him that! He’ll be so surprised.”

  She laughed. “I’ll try to remember. So he’s coming to visit? That’s cool. You get along well?”

  “Yeah, he’s a nice guy. He’s my younger brother, so it’s fun to mess around with him. We have that sort of joking relationship with one another. We always have. He’s a very funny guy.”