Dirty Stepbrother - A Firefighter Romance (The Maxwell Family)

by Alycia Taylor

  “Well, you could maybe help me with some of the heavy lifting, at least.”

  “I’ll think about it,” he said.

  We walked over to the barn and I asked him what he thought of everyone.

  “It’s so much fun watching them. And Sloan is even more beautiful up close. She seems nice. I mean, she was very friendly to me. But . . . she’s maybe a little too materialistic for someone like you. Sleeping with her is fine, but it’s good that she’s going. No offense or anything. I mean, I’m complimenting you here. She just doesn’t seem to be the type that could truly understand a man like you.”

  “Yeah,” I said and then abruptly changed the subject.

  I thought about the conversations I’d had with Sloan and realized that I didn’t see her in the same way I used to anymore. Ryan had taken one look at her and seen her as a materialistic person. But I was sure that there was more to her than what meets the eye. I’d seen a different side to her that was hard to un-see.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Sloan

  It felt bittersweet to me when I was packing up that day. It was Friday afternoon and another week had officially come to a close. I wasn’t sure how I felt about going back home to New York. Part of me felt excited, and part of me felt sad. I’d gotten used to the lifestyle here. The early mornings. The rides on the horses. The long strolls along the quiet streets. I’d even miss the people, who were nothing like the hillbillies Victoria and I had assumed they would be. They were all kind and caring, and everyone seemed to go out of their way for one another. At first, I thought that they were just being nice because I was famous. But then I realized being nice was just in their nature. They were nice to one another, as well as to the film crew.

  I saw Brady and his brother in the distance and thought I’d go and say goodbye for the day. I hadn’t seen much of Brady this week. We’d been shooting nonstop, and there hadn’t been much time to socialize. And I didn’t see him as much in between takes because he was mostly with Ryan. We spoke every now and again, but it was always different when it wasn’t just the two of us.

  “Hey guys,” I said as I got there. The two of them were sitting on hay bales, and for a second the whole thing struck me as funny. “You both look like cowboys. Even you, Ryan,” I said.

  Ryan chuckled. “This is what happens when you hang around Brady for too long. You start acting like him.”

  “Tell me about it,” I said and grinned. “Well, I just wanted to say goodbye. It’s been a long week. How much longer are you here for, Ryan?”

  “Tonight is my last night.”

  “It is? Well, it was a pleasure meeting you. Pity I couldn’t have gotten you aside so you to tell me more about Brady.”

  “Nah, Ryan wouldn’t have told you anything. He’s got my back,” Brady said.

  Ryan laughed. “No, I don’t. One beer is probably all it would take. Hey, are you free tonight?”

  “Tonight? Yeah. Why?”

  “Come over to Brady’s place. We’ll have dinner. It’s my last night, and it’s not every day I get the chance to hang around someone famous.”

  I chuckled. I looked at Brady, and he smiled and nodded.

  I smiled back. “Yeah, okay. I’ll be there. But only if we can have steaks on the outdoor grill.”

  “Deal,” Brady said.

  I walked away grinning to myself. I hadn’t expected an evening with Brady. And hopefully Ryan would shed some light on some of the things that I found so confusing about him.

  My driver dropped me off for dinner early.

  “You’re early,” Ryan said as he reached over to kiss me on the cheek.

  I grinned. “Yeah, I have to get here early,” I said as I snuck a look at Brady and then back at Ryan. “I once got to my riding lesson late and Brady sent me back to the hotel and told me to come back the next day.”

  “What? You didn’t do that! Did you?” he asked his brother as we all made our way outside.

  “She was two hours late and wearing a dress for horseback riding!”

  “Still. To send her back and make her come back the next day? That’s awful.”

  “Thank you,” I said. “Brady, you didn’t tell me your brother was so nice.”

  “He’s not!” he said and laughed. “Red wine?” he said to me.

  “I’d love some. Thank you.”

  I sat back and sighed as I looked out at the wide open space. “You know, I’m going to miss this,” I said.

  “You are?” Ryan said.

  “You seem surprised.”

  “Well, I just can’t imagine going from a place like New York to here. As much as I love it here, I’m not sure I could live here.”

  “It’s not for everyone, that’s for sure,” Brady said. “But some people just fall in love with it.”

  “Have you fallen in love with it?” Ryan asked.

  I looked out again. “I’m not sure. But it has messed with my head a little.”

  “So, how did the shoot go this week, by the way?” Ryan asked.

  “It went well. Everyone is finally in the groove of this place. I think it took us quite a while to find our feet. Some more than others even. But we’re getting there. I think the movie is going to be amazing. We got this incredible sunset shot the other day. I have a feeling that’s the scene everyone is going to be talking about. I hope so at least.”

  “That’s cool. And . . . uh, what about Blaire? She also enjoying herself?”

  I chuckled to myself. I hadn’t known Blaire until we’d gotten to Wyoming. She was just a small role in the movie, so I didn’t get a chance to hang out with her all that much. But the more time we spent together, the more I liked her. She was a sweet girl. Very pretty, but normal-looking. Her best feature was most definitely her smile, which she seemed to offer easily to the world. I’d caught her and Ryan talking one day, and I got the sense that he liked her. But so far, neither of them had said anything about it.

  “Blaire? She’s having a great time. But she’s the type of girl that always sees the best in everything. It’s a great trait to have. She’s a nice girl. I saw the two of you talking the other day.”

  “Oh, yeah. I tried to meet everyone. Like I said, it’s not every day that you get to meet celebrities.”

  “You should’ve invited her tonight,” I said. I wished I thought of it myself.

  “Oh, I heard her saying that she had a dinner thing with the producer or something.”

  “Oh yeah, I heard about that. Sounds boring. Pity. She would’ve enjoyed it here way more.”

  “Yeah, pity,” Ryan said.

  “Why, are you interested in her?” Brady said.

  “No!” Ryan said almost a little too loudly. “She was just very friendly. That’s all. Anyway, stick to cooking the meat, big brother.”

  Brady laughed. “You see what I have to put up with, Sloan? Now imagine growing up with a guy like this. Constant ripping me off.”

  “Ha! You’re the one that’s older than me. It was me who got teased all the time. You should feel sorry for me, Sloan.”

  I chuckled. In the short time that I had known Brady, I had come to know that it wasn’t easy for him to feel comfortable around people. But with Ryan, it was different.

  “I wish I had a sibling. I’d take the teasing any day.”

  “Oh yeah? Well, you can be my sister then,” Ryan said.

  “Don’t do it, Sloan. You’re in for a world of pain if you do.”

  I chuckled. “I’m sure I can handle it.”

  “Well then, welcome to the family, sis.”

  “It’s a pleasure to be here, bro. Ooh, I just realized that I now have an MMA fighter for a brother. I like this. You can beat up anyone that gives me grief.”

  “Would you like me to beat up Brady? He’s taking too long with the food. I’m starving.”

  “You’re in luck. The food is ready.”

  We all sat around outside, eating the food that Brady had prepared. It was the same steak, salad, and fresh rol
ls that he’d made the last time I’d come over. He’d told me that it was really the only thing that he could cook well. But I didn’t mind. It was delicious. And Ryan was easy to talk to. He spent a lot of time talking about the fights and the training that he did for it, and Brady kept telling him to talk about something else. But I was interested and kept asking questions. Meeting Brady and Ryan had opened up two completely different worlds to me that I hadn’t known before. It made me realize how small minded I had been the past few years, and how much I’d lacked social interaction with different people.

  “This was delicious; thanks, Brady,” I said.

  “Yeah man, so good,” Ryan agreed. He couldn’t tease his brother about the food; there was simply nothing to tease about.

  “Let me clean up,” Brady said and stood up.

  “I’ll help,” I said.

  “No, you will not. And Ryan, you won’t either.”

  “I wasn’t going to,” Ryan said and laughed.

  “Honestly Sloan, you’re my guest. I won’t take long, anyway. And I’ll bring out some coffees when I’m done.”

  He walked off carrying all the plates, and I smiled at Ryan.

  “He’s such a nice guy.”

  “He is. I’m glad he’s had you to talk to these past few weeks,” he said. His voice went low, and I knew he didn’t want Brady to hear the conversation. “Between you and me, Brady isn’t the type of guy to bring a woman home. In fact, I’ve never met a girl before that Brady has spoken of as highly of as you. I was starting to think there was something wrong with him. In all the time we’ve known each other, I’ve never seen him with a girl. I mean, I know he’s had girlfriends and all, but he’s never introduced me to them.”

  I sat back in surprise. I was the first girl that he’d allowed his brother to meet? That was quite something. I wondered what that meant. Perhaps he liked me more than he was letting on? Or maybe he didn’t mind getting close because he knew that I would be leaving soon.

  “We’re so totally different, but we connect in some way that I just . . . I can’t explain.”

  “Yeah, I can see that, actually. Although, something tells me that beyond the exterior, the two of you might not be so different after all. Now that I’ve gotten to know you, I think you’re very different from the girl that I met the first time.”

  “Yeah, Brady said the same thing to me. Maybe I am,” I said and pondered the thought. Then I leaned into him, “Other than you and Grant though, he’s quite tight-lipped about your family.”

  “That doesn’t surprise me at all. He’s a man of few words, our Brady. Has he said anything to you about our father?”

  “Nothing much, other than the fact that he works at a motorcycle shop and is part of some club or something. But that’s about it.”

  “Really? Nothing else?”

  “No, why?”

  “Well, he’s just gone through a bout of cancer. He’s been in treatment and he’s better, but it was still a pretty big deal. Not that my father ever let it show, of course. But I knew how hard it was for him.”

  “No, he didn’t say anything. Is Brady close to him?”

  Ryan shook his head. “Not at all. Brady hasn’t spoken to him in years as far as I know. Even with this whole cancer thing.”

  “What? Why not?”

  “Well—“

  But before Ryan could finish the conversation, Brady walked in. He looked at the two of us and shook his head.

  “The two of you look like you’re up to no good. Ryan, I hope you haven’t been filling up her head with lies.”

  “Me? I’d never do such a thing,” Ryan said and grinned.

  I smiled and gratefully took the cup of coffee. The conversation changed into something more lighthearted, but the whole time I couldn’t stop thinking about what Ryan had said to me. Brady’s father had cancer? Why would Brady not visit his father if he was so ill? Why hadn’t he seen him for years? There was something that Brady wasn’t telling me. Something that he obviously didn’t tell anyone.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Brady

  It was sad to say goodbye to Ryan. I was used to him coming and going like that, but he’d been good company. And he’d changed his mind about Sloan. At first he’d told me that she was far too materialistic for me. But after the dinner at my house, he said there was something about her that went beyond the exterior. The two of them actually got along really well, and by the end of the evening Ryan had taken her in as his new sister. I was glad that Ryan had seen another side to her. At least I knew I wasn’t imagining it.

  I invited Grant over for coffee that morning, and the three us spent some time catching up before Ryan had to leave.

  “This is so weird,” Grant said. “The three of us here in Wyoming together.”

  “Yeah, we just need Ian and Reed, and all the brothers would be together again,” Ryan said.

  “Ha! I don’t see that happening.”

  “Hey, never say never,” Grant said. “I didn’t think I’d ever be living here. And here I am. Strange things can happen. It’s good to see you again, Knuckles.”

  Ryan chuckled. “Same to you, Patriot. Hey, I hear you also got a shotgun shoved in your face when you knocked on Brady’s door.”

  Grant rolled his eyes. “Brady, you really need to stop doing that.”

  “And you guys need to stop knocking at my door at unearthly times in the morning.”

  After the coffee, I said goodbye to the guys and made my way over to Sloan’s hotel. It was the day of the rodeo, and I was feeling excited and a little nervous. I’d never taken someone with me before. I hoped she was going to enjoy it.

  She was waiting outside when I arrived, and I smiled at the sight of her. She was wearing light blue jeans and a small yellow shirt, which she’d tied at the waist. She had on brown boots and a cowgirl hat.

  “I’m loving this look,” I said to her as she hopped in the car.

  She giggled. “I’m really getting into it now, hey. I’m going to miss dressing this way.”

  “Come on; you’ve got to keep it up in New York. I promise you; you’ll start a new trend.”

  “I’m just not sure it will feel the same,” she said and sighed. “So, are you excited about today? I am. I woke up so early because I couldn’t sleep. I mean, I never thought I’d actually ever go to a real rodeo.”

  I liked her enthusiasm. “I’m excited. And I’m glad you are too. You’re going to love it. I used to go all the time to watch before I got into it myself. It’s such a fun crowd to be in. They’re very supportive.”

  “You most definitely have my support today. I’ll be screaming the loudest.”

  I chuckled at the thought. “I’ve never had a cheerleader before,” I said. Especially one as pretty as you.

  When we arrived, I decided to take her backstage first to show her around and to introduce her to some of the other guys. I saw Trace and took her to say hello. Trace’s eyes lit up at the sight of Sloan. Then he went pale, and I thought he was going to faint. For a man that spent a lot of time hanging around beautiful women at clubs, he didn’t seem to know what to do with himself. I tried not to laugh at the sight of him.

  “Trace, I’d like you to meet the lovely Sloan. Sloan, this is my rodeo partner, Trace.”

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Trace,” Sloan said and stuck her hand out.

  Trace took her hand. I could see him trying to find his voice. “Sloan Hill. Wow, I never thought I’d see the day. It’s a pleasure to meet you too. You’ve come to watch the rodeo?”

  She nodded. “I have. I’ve never been to one before.”

  “You’re going to love it.”

  “Come on, I’ll show you around some more,” I said. Then I looked at Trace. “See you soon.”

  He stood there, mouth agape as we walked off, and I laughed.

  “It must be so strange to leave people speechless the way you do,” I said. I couldn’t imagine what that feeling must be like. It must be quite powerful.


  She just shrugged. “It’s got nothing to do with me as a person. They’re only speechless because they’ve seen me on the big screen. So it’s not very real. And they get over it pretty quickly.”

  I sensed frustration in her voice, so I decided to change the subject. Instead, I took her around and showed her all there was to know about rodeo.

  “Oh, look at the bulls,” she said. She stood in shock. I could almost feel her trembling beside me. I’d been around these animals for such a long time that I’d forgotten how menacing they could be to someone that wasn’t used to them. Especially to a city girl.

  I laughed. “Come on; I’ll introduce you.”

  “I’ve never seen one up close before.”

  “And you’d never ridden a horse before you met me. A lot of firsts. Aren’t they incredible, though? This is the one I will be riding.”

  “Wow, he’s huge. I had no idea they would be like this. I mean, I knew they’d be big, but I didn’t realize that they’d be this big.”

  “I know what you mean. They’re very different up close. I thought the same thing. But you get used to them.”

  “I’m not sure I could get used to something this big. Also, he looks awful mean. Are you sure you want to ride this one? It was obvious that Betty was a nice horse the moment I saw her. But this guy looks like he wants to fight. Why don’t we take a walk around and look for a bull with a kinder face?”

  I chuckled. “I can’t do that. He’s the one that’s assigned to me. And trust me, none of them have kind faces. But that doesn’t mean that they’re horrible. They’re just a little scary up close is all. But don’t worry. He’s a good bull to ride. I’m used to him by now. I’ve had a lot of practice.”

  “I sure hope so,” she said.

  “Okay, so it’s the team rope first. I’m with Trace. Would you like to go into the crowd or do you want to watch from somewhere closer? I have a place I can take you where nobody else will be.”

  “Close would be great,” she said, and I could see her visibly sigh with relief at the idea of being alone.