I hear her come in and my ears perk up a bit. Like her being here makes any difference. It shouldn't, but it does. Today was busy as hell and all I want to do is relax so I can do it all over again tomorrow, but something brings me downstairs to the kitchen. I swing open the pantry and see my peanut butter gone and chuckle to myself. She's gonna have to start keeping her own food here if she's gonna eat all the dang good stuff.
"Jo," I call, knocking on her bedroom door. Why's she always keep it closed? It's like she wants nothing to do with us, but I know she had fun last night.
"No," she groans.
"No, what?" I laugh, swinging the door open and smiling at her. "How was my peanut butter?"
"Oh." She looks at the jar that's sitting in bed with her then picks it up and tosses it to me. "I owe you a jar." Lying back down, she covers up to her chin and her eyes go back to the TV.
I look at her real close as I step farther into her room. "You get your hair done? Something's different," I say, sitting on the bed next to her and trying to figure out what it is. "Maybe it's the hoodie thing. That old thing finally see it's last day?"
She scowls at me. "It's probably lack of sleep you're noticing. Hey, can you close the door on your way out please?" Eyes back on the TV.
I sigh and shake my head, standing. "I'm sorry about this too, Jo." When her glare lands on me and before she can react, I grip the blanket and rip it off her, holding it just out of her reach. "You can't live your life in b—" Hell... "What happened to the girl who didn't care last night?" I whisper, trying not to look affected by the new haircut, the painted nails, and the new outfit she's got on but it's huggin' her in all the right places and I can't not look. This is bad. So bad, but trying to remember this is my step sister is the hardest thing I’ve had to do.
Her arms are covering her body like she's naked and she gets to her knees, her long hair falling past her shoulders, actually styled instead of limp like yesterday. "Brandt," snarls from her lips. "We need to go over some fuckin' boundaries or something."
"You're new here, Jo. I'll give you a few days to accept one thing about me," I say, then lean down closer to her, simply because she smelled great last night and I need another hit. "I have no boundaries, sweetheart." I yank the blanket away when she tries to snatch it from me and I take a step back. "We got some fun that needs to be had tonight. Let's go."
Her eyes stay locked on me and there's something ticking in that pretty little head before she lunges with a grunt, trying to get to the blanket. She's attached to my side, and I can't flail her off because she's like a leech, really wanting this blanket. I try to wrestle her off without breaking any bones, and we land on the bed with a huff.
"You really want this thing, don't you?" I laugh, holding her down and tossing the blanket across the room. "I said we’re gonna go have fun tonight, Jo." I'm so close to her each breath is intoxicating and hell if her body doesn't feel good pressed against mine, even if she's fighting to get away from me. I chuckle and cock my head at her. "Why're you always so angry at me? I'm just tryin' to teach you how to relax, Jo."
Panting under me, her breaths keep pushing her chest against mine. The more she squirms, the more she gets herself in a position where she's rubbing against me. Finally she lets out a frustrated huff.
"You have too much energy." She's still panting and turns her head when I won't break eye contact. "You're obnoxious."
With her head at this angle my eyes catch a glimpse of something on her neck that has me moving my hand to her hair, needing to push it aside to get a better look. She tries fighting me when she realizes what I'm doing, but it's too late.
"What the hell happened, Jo?" I whisper, eyeing the fresh slice on her neck and I know it wasn't there last time I saw her.
With a shriek she starts to wiggle and while I was enjoying her rubbing on me before, now I'm pissed something happened to her. I try to adjust myself so I'm not enjoying it, but eventually I give in and hop off the bed, running my hands through my hair in frustration.
"You gonna tell me what the hell happened to your neck?" I blurt, and I'm not sure if I'm angry that she's hurt or angry that she's not telling me or angry that I don't want to be angry over this girl but I am. Hell.
I can't be too sure, but I swear her eyes just flashed to my dick, but they're back on me when she snaps, "Nothin'! Get out!"
"Those types of cuts don't just happen, Jolene. Either you tell me or I'm gonna find out from someone else. And you know I will." I cross my arms, standing here in the middle of her room, worried for a girl I shouldn't care about but I do. Way too much. Just like I care about, and like, how mussed her hair is and the frazzled look on her face.
"What coulda possibly happened to me, Brandt? I've been in bed most of the day. Quit prying into my freaking life. Fuck! Just because I share a room in your house and eat your peanut butter doesn't mean you can stick your fuckin' nose in my business." Her fingers touch the slice and she moves to the end of the bed, not getting off it while she stretches for the blanket. My eyes go to her ass in those leggings.
I'd like to stick my somethin’ in her... Shit my dad would kill me for these thoughts.
"For some reason, a rude chick moves into my house, steals my peanut butter, and is mean to me every chance she gets even when I'm trying to be nice and hospitable. You'd think I wouldn't care, but I do." I grab the chair from the desk in the corner and take a seat. "I'm not leaving you alone till you tell me, so you may as well spill. That happen when you got your hair done? It looks nice by the way. Pretty."
The anger on her face starts to heat up until she huffs. "Fucking helmet head cornered me in a fucking bathroom and we got into it. This came from a knife and I don't know when it happened, but probably when I fought to get away from him." She crawls back to the pillows.
My stomach drops and I lean my head down, dropping it to my hands. Helmet Head. IE- my goddamned brother.
"What'd he say to you?" I ask, moving to the bed, not fighting the urge to get closer to her.
"I don't know," she says with a shrug and touches the cut again. "Asking where I came from. How I know you guys. He wants my help with something? It's really no big deal." Her eyes dart from me to the TV, but slowly come back.
"It's only a big deal because you're playing it like he can't hurt you, Jo. You don't know him. He's capable of a lot worse than a small cut on the neck." I reach out and stop myself before pushing her hair aside to see it again, rage simmering inside over what he did to her.
"I don't doubt that now. This was the least of what he did." When she flips her hair to the side, my eyes drop to her pale neck. "He's a mean bastard," she whispers and her hand slides to the back of her head. "But I got out of it." And there's that shrug again like it ain't a big deal.
"This time, sure. Next time he'll be better prepared for your fight. Trust me." I try to keep the anger from my tone but the fact that she's not taking this seriously pisses me off. I won't have her getting hurt from my psycho family.
"You guys go to school together or somethin'? How'd he get that scar?" The tone of her voice is like he interests her more than he should.
"Naw." I shift to sit on the bed a little closer to her. "We live in two different towns. No school together." I push my hands through my hair and sigh. "He's a fighter, Jo. Always has been, always will be. I'm sure the scar isn't the ugliest part of him."
"It was kinda cool." She chuckles. "It was gnarly. Anyway, I've met bigger assholes than him and still lived to talk about it." She pulls the covers up over her legs.
"This asshole isn't gonna go away though." I can just feel the start of something bigger now that he's set his sights on her. "You gotta just stay away from him, okay?"
"Maybe I will, maybe I won't. That's like me telling you Donna sucks, stay away from her. You fuckin' won't just 'cause I tell you to. Just because you say he's an asshole doesn't mean I'm gonna be afraid of him. I witnessed first-hand how much of an asshole he is." That stupid shrug lifts her shoulders again. "But I'm sure we'll bump into each other again. You don’t seem to have much reason other than knowing he likes to fight."
"I have plenty of reasons," I growl. I don't want her to know. I hate talking about it. But this stubborn girl isn't going to listen to me at all until I fill her in. "Shit, Jo," I grumble, flipping off the TV and shifting to face her. "His name's Cash Fayer. And he's my older brother." I watch her for a reaction, my heart beating out of my damn chest because I'm about to relive parts of my life I never wanted to again, all to try to keep this stubborn girl safe.
"Huh." She stares at me like she's gauging if she can believe me. "Bad blood there I assume? So I take it Garrison's not his dad?"
"Ah, no. He lives a town over. Garrison, my dad, and his mom got together when he was about three. I came along when he turned four, and ever since he's kinda hated me. Not for any good reason but the man's just insane." I shake my head. "When my dad left our mom, he took me with him and my mom naturally kept Cash. I grew up here, he grew up in a shitty situation with a new step dad that didn’t take too kindly to him."
"Ahhh, so it's the bad brother hates the spoiled brother. Sounds like he has a lot of reasons to hate you guys." She reaches for the remote to turn the TV back on.
I snatch it from her and turn it off. "I'm not fuckin' spoiled, Jo. I've worked my ass off on this ranch. Me and my dad both. I've been up before the sun since before I knew any better, making sure this place and my dad didn't fail. It was just us for years until your mom came along." I shake my head, taking a deep breath to calm myself. "Cash has hated me since the day I was born, but when they separated and especially when Donna came along, everything got worse. My summers, when I spent time with my mom, I was forced to fight for my food. Fight for my TV time. Everything was a fight. One day, Cash and I were playin' football in the field behind mom's house and the ball went over the fence. We scrabbled, fighting who had to climb the rusted barbed wire fence to get it. I wasn't about to go over that shitty thing, so I fought. Hard. Because he kept fighting back harder the older we got and I had no choice." My hands wring together and I let out a heavy breath. "I never wanted to hurt him like I did. I never expected it to get that far but something snapped in him and he just lost it. I didn't have a choice. The wire sliced through his cheek so...well it wasn't clean. He's always had it out for my dad and me. Ever since the cut on his face, he’s pretty much wanted me dead."
She thinks over everything I just told her then snorts. "He hates you guys 'cause you scarred him. That's just stupid. Sucks for you, but I got nothing to do with that shit and the kid better leave me alone because next time I'll make sure I have a knife." Her arms wrap around her knees as she pulls them into her chest and she glances at me a few times, seeming like there's more she wants to say but she doesn't.
"I'm not joking, Jo. Word is he gets rough with girls. Raped a few, apparently, but none will come forward and press charges they're so scared of him. He's got an entire crew of goons that think he's God. Even if he's physically not in the same room as you, you can bet if he has his eyes set on you, he knows exactly what you're doing. At all times." I don't want to scare her bad, but she needs some fear put in her. Cash ain’t nothing to fuck with. She needs to take this seriously and I need to figure out a way to get him off her tail. And fast.
"Whelp." She gets out of the bed, her tight tank top riding up her stomach. "I'm not worried about it.” Grabbing her hoodie, she asks, "Are we gonna be inside or outside?"
It takes me a minute to realize what she's asking, and then a grin spreads across my face. I got so wrapped up in the shit about Cash that I forgot about our fun for the night.
"So you're coming out with me for a bit of fun without me carrying you out that door kicking and screaming?"
"If you make a big deal out of it, I'll use my knife on you." She glares at me.
"You don't scare me." I laugh, standing and slinging my arm around her shoulder. "As much as I like this tank top, you're gonna need a jacket."
She looks up at me a little confused before she looks down at her shirt. "It's just a black tank." A black hoodie slides over her and hides the view.
Yeah, but it lets me see more of you. And that's always a good sight.
I bite back the words and smile at her, holding the door open as she walks out on her own accord. Damn straight she's hanging out with me willingly. I can't wipe the grin off my face as I follow her outside.
"We're headin' to the barn," I say, prying my eyes off her ass. Thank god it's dark already, because if my dad saw me eyein' her like this...well that'd be the end of me living in the same house as her. Probably the end of my life as I know it.
"This was a ploy to get me out here to do work, wasn't it?" She huffs.
"Nah," I chuckle. "I'm not that mean. Plus, I wouldn't let you wear pants like that if you were really gonna be workin'." I try to picture her in a pair of jeans and boots and have to stop myself before it becomes painfully obvious what's goin' on in my head.
"So..." She glances around when we get in the barn. "What's so awesome out here?" Her timid touch reaches for my horse but she jerks her hand back when he turns his head.
"That's Lucky. He won't bite." I walk up to them and when Lucky nuzzles me, I give him a gentle hug. "Come on. Give him a hug."
She chuckles with a shake of her head as she backs away and plops onto a hay bale. "I don't want to hug it. I could be watching TV."
"But this is way more exciting." I nod toward the door and grin. "We're going snipe hunting."
"Snipe...what?"
"Snipe hunting." I hold back the laugh from the look on her face. "See, you grab one of these bags." I toss a potato bag at her and chuckle when she snatches it before it hits her face. "And one of these." I hold out a flashlight. She takes it but is starting to look a little worried. "And all we do is stand out there in the field, close to the woods, and try to lure the snipes into our bags with these flashlights."
"For starters." She's inspecting the bag. "What's a snipe?"
"A tiny bird. But they make the best darn chicken wings." I toss my baseball hat on backwards and nod. "Oh, and you gotta make this high pitched chirping noise." I do my damndest to make the worst sound possible for her and her eyes go wide. "That's how they start movin'."
She's glaring at me, not sure if I’m serious and she slowly looks at the bag again. "I don't want to eat it," she whispers.
"Eh. There's hundreds of them out there. You don't eat them, they'll eat you!" I holler back, walking out of the barn and flipping the lights off as I go, forcing her to either join me or sit in the darkness.
I make it about ten feet and she's jogging up next to me.
"Why would they just jump into the bag?" she asks, trying to keep pace.
"The bag stays dark. It's a dark place and for some reason they like the smell of the potato sack. So we shine the light all around the ground, chirp at the top of our lungs, and it scares them into the bag." I shrug and take a deep breath, trying not to laugh at this poor soul.
"You country folk are strange," she mumbles.
"We're resourceful." I walk to the middle of the field and drop my flashlight to the ground. "But chicken wings are pricey. Now, look. Ya gotta hold the bag like this." I help her adjust the bag and I'm happy it's dark so I can't see the glare on her face. Also so she can't see me trying not to laugh at her. "Now grab your flashlight and let 'er have it!" I slap her ass then take ten steps away, watching her cautiously decide what she's going to do about this.
She's rubbing her ass and looking around and when she takes a few more steps away from me I wish I could record this without her knowing. Damn this is the best thing that's happened around here since she showed up.
"Come on, like this!" I screech at the top of my lungs. Something like a 'ai ai ai EEEEE' sound that hurts my throat but it gets her attention. "Come on, Jo. They ain’t movin’ yet. You gotta help!" I make the noise again and gasp like I got one. "Oh shit! They're movin’, come on!"
Then she starts the screeching and I can't hold it back anymore. The city girl fuckin' fell for the snipe trick! Holy shit she's fucking doing it and I'm about to piss myself from laughing this hard!
I shine the flashlight on her face when she stops and turns to face me and she's pissed. Her pale cheeks are red and her mouth's hanging open until a firefly darts inside and she starts to choke and spit.
"I fucking hate the country!" she shrieks and starts stomping back toward the house. "And I fucking hate you, Brandt! Your boots make me nauseous!"
"Hold up!" I yell, running after her. "You gotta admit, that was some funny shit." I can't stop laughing and my side hurts. Good god she's cute when she's nice and pissed off.
"Fuck you," she snarls again and it only makes me laugh harder, making her groan and continue stomping toward the house.
"Jo, stop!" I yell after composing myself. "Hey, stop." I grab her arm and she spins, giving me that death glare. "You really hate my boots?”
“Yes!” Her foot stomps before she tries to head for the house again, but laughing, I stop her.
“Hey, come on, can I make it up to ya?"
"Yes, by running into the electric fence." She scowls at me, folding her arms across her chest.
"I was thinking maybe muddin'?" When her eyes narrow the slightest, I explain, "I got two four wheelers that haven't been taken out in a while, and a field out back that's perfect for it."
"Let me guess, first I have to make some stupid fucking noise and let you humiliate me again? Pass." She rolls her eyes and turns for the house.
"Seriously!" I yell after her, laughing. "I swear. No joking or humiliation. And I'll even promise not to plaster you with mud."
"I don't even have a fucking license, Brandt. I don't feel like your games."
I blink away the humor that the city girl thinks you need a license for a four wheeler.
"Uh... I'm sorry. I promised no making fun of you and all. But you do know licenses aren't needed for four wheelers in a field, right?" I want to laugh so bad, but as it stands, she's ten seconds from storming inside and not hanging out tonight.
And I really want to hang out with her, for all the wrong reasons. Jo is ultimately a girl that’s sparked my interest. I should have kept my thoughts on her being a step sister, but they’re far beyond that now.
Her arms fold over her chest and she dips her head, looking away. "What I mean is, I don't know how to drive. I haven't even ridden a bike since I was like fourteen."
"So I'll teach ya." I wink and nod toward the barn. "Come on." I start walking, glancing back to see she's following begrudgingly, but she's still following. "So you need something other than flip flops." I glance at her feet, and then look around the barn. "I think your mom has some boots out here you can throw on."
"Oh no!" she blurts. "No way in hell!"
I raise my eyebrows and chuckle. "You're gonna go barefoot? ‘Cause those things ain’t stayin’ on."
"You will never catch me alive, or dead, in a pair of cowboy boots," she insists.
"Sure, sweetheart. Keep thinking that." I grab the keys to one of the four wheelers and head to the back of the barn, pulling open the back door that leads to the field. "That one's ours." I motion toward the newer of the two we currently have, praying it has enough gas for tonight. "Hop on. I'll let you lead." Really, I only want my arms wrapped around her...but she don't need to know that part of it.
She chuckles and stares at me in disbelief. "You're going to let me drive it?"
"Sure." I shrug like it's no biggie. "I mean, I'm coming with so when you screw up, you won't kill yourself." I hop on the back of it and pat the seat in front of me. "Let's go, city girl."
Getting on, she slides as far forward as she can, putting a huge gap between our bodies. "Enough room, farm boy?" She mocks me calling her a city girl.
"Way too much. You're prolly pullin' my chain and are a pro at these things. I don't want you whipping me off first chance you get." I scoot forward and wrap my arms around her, resting my hands on the handlebars. "Ready?" I already regret being this close to her because, hell, she feels good against me.
She glances back and down at my thighs pressed against her from behind and she sighs with annoyance. It’s apparent she’s sick of me trying to be close to her, touching her, but she doesn’t tell me not to. She did, the first night we hung out, and even though I was attracted to her, I was only doing it to annoy her, break her in a little.
"Yeah. What do I do?" She starts poking at buttons.
I reach down between her legs, pushing myself even closer to her, and flip the switch then turn the key. "Now this is the throttle." I twist my right hand. "And brake." I clutch the brake. "Ease off your foot and hand brake and give it some gas with the throttle."
Her arms fold against her chest and she shakes her head no. "I didn't understand a word of what you said. I'll kill us," she admits with fear in her voice.
"Aw, come on now, city girl. Have a little faith in me. I wouldn't let you kill us." I pat her thigh and take her hand, bringing it back up to the throttle. "Let's do this."
When I lower my hands to her hips, she quickly grabs my wrists and I almost scoot away because I don't think she wants me touching her. I'm getting too hands-on with my supposed step sister and she's going to try kicking my ass. But that's not what she’s doing; she puts my hands back on the handlebars.
"You need to do it with me, Brandt. I'm terrified of driving. Anything," she admits with a shaky breath like she's actually scared out of her wits right now.
I sigh and rest my hands on the bars, right over hers. This position has me way closer to her than I need to be, and this is way out of the step sibling realm as far as my father's concerned, but I can't find many cares tonight about that. What he don't know won't kill him.
I take it easy out of the barn, letting her get the feel of it at first and soon her hands drop from the bars and she has no interest in controlling this. I clamp my thighs closer to hers to hold her steady then I wrench the throttle, making her shift back that inch that was still separating us and her ass pushes right against my dick. When I hear her laugh, I don't let off and I see the puddle I was lookin' for. My dad's going to kill me when he realizes I tore up the field again, but Jo's laughter makes me push on. As we hit the marshy land, I yank the handlebars, almost throwing her off but she grabs my thighs with a scream then bursts into laughter. I probably should have made her wear a helmet, but I don't plan on her getting hurt tonight. We ride in circles until I'm eating grit and grass because the tires have kicked up so much earth we're both covered, then I head to the creek to at least wash off my boots.
The muddy fields soon turn into back roads and the familiarity of the creek finally starts to calm me. It's still not as good as Jo pushed against me and it's definitely not as good as her laughter, but it helps calm me every time I come out here.
We pull to a stop and she glances back at me, beaming a smile I didn’t think I’d see on this girl’s face, and it's hard not to press my lips to hers. Hell, I almost do. But then I remember all the dirt that's probably caked on me so I hop off the four wheeler and yank my shirt over my head.
"Up for a swim?" I wiggle my eyebrows at her.
"I lost my flip flops..." She snorts out a laugh then gets off, moving slowly. "I'm drenched in mud." She yanks her hoodie off and drapes it over the handlebars. "Hey, what if I step on a snake or something? You have snakes out here?" Her wide eyes find me and I grin at the mud sprayed across her face.
"Yeah." I blink a few times, because in this moonlight, even covered in dirt, she's damn beautiful. How on God's green earth is a goth girl from the city who likes to sleep all day turning me into a mindless, dumb cowboy? And my step sister, nonetheless! "I’ll go first and scare them away." I slide off my boots. "But if I get bit it's up to you to drive us back on that thing."
"Maybe we should just go back, Brandt," she says with worry and grabs my forearm. I glance down at her small hand and my eyes travel up her arm. An arm that's covered in intricate tattoos that I want to pin her down to study.
"Stop worrying so much, city girl." I unbuckle my belt and drop my pants right here in front of her. Her brows raise and I smirk when her eyes travel my body. "Come on, I'm getting in and if you stand here too long the snakes'll be back before you make it to the water."
"Oh, if only I had a fucking potato sack to catch them in." She rolls her eyes and folds her arms over her chest while I laugh at her.
"Don't be insane, Jo. Animals hate potato sacks. All scratchy and shit." I laugh then shiver. "Come on now! Sun's gonna be up soon and we need to get clean before the ‘gators wake up."
"Brandt, that's not fuckin' funny!" She slaps at her arm, and if she don't get in the water, that cold blood's going to be a feast for mosquitos. "I'm not getting in the freaking water! Especially not with alligators, and especially because I don't want to be soaking wet riding all the way back to the house. I'll freeze!"
I laugh at how cute she is. Cute, worried little goth city girl. She's not quite as tough as she acts. Then again, she fought off fucking Cash. Fuck, that still pisses me off.
"Take those layers off, Jo. Then get in the damn water before I throw you in." I cross my arms over my chest. "And you're gonna be a walking mosquito bite if you don't act soon."
"Fuck!" She jumps and swats at her leg. Her eyes drop to my bare chest then down to my boxer briefs before they fall to her chest. "You're fuckin' crazy." Her tank top is pulled off, and no surprise, she has a little black bra on, but I can't see much in this light. With a huff, she peels off her leggings then hightails it toward the creek in nothing but her red underwear and black bra. "Oh, shit!" she shrieks when the cold water hits her, then the rocks jab at her feet.
I jog over to the water and splash her as I run in. "What're you talking about? This feels fantastic!" I splash her again then bring water to my face and try to rub off some of the dirt.
"Does it go deeper?" she asks, blindly wandering toward the middle where she could slip then be whisked right down the creek never to be seen again.
"Jesus, girl," I blurt, rushing after her and gripping her hip just as her footing slips. "You asking to die tonight? You know my dad would have my hide if you ended up dyin' out here." I pull her toward me and take a step back, but my hand doesn't drop from her hip when my brain tells it to.
"I think both our parents would shoot us if they knew we were out here in our underwear," she says only above a whisper and starts to carefully wander toward the shore before splashing her face with water.
"Oh come on, city girl. It's just as much as a bathing suit, right?" I splash water at her back then wipe off some of the dirt caked on my arms. "It's like a fresh bath."
She snorts a laugh of disagreement then turns to say something but I'm right behind her and she rolls her eyes at me.
"You missed a few spots," I whisper, bringing my thumb to her cheek to wipe off dirt before doing the same with my other hand, though this time it’s only for an excuse to touch her. Her eyes flick from my chest up to me and she licks her lips, probably contemplating the same thing I am.
Fuck, my dad's gonna kill me.
"What they don't know won't hurt them, right?" I whisper, my hand still cupping her cheek.
Her lips curl into an O and she locks eyes with me, probably realizing how much of a bad idea this is. "I..."
I don't let her finish, not wanting either of us to come to our senses. I press my lips to hers, hesitantly at first then with a little more force when I register just how perfect her lips feel. She's rigid, but after I move to deepen the kiss her hands clamp onto my biceps.
I shift to stand on a sturdier rock and let my hands roam under the water and down to her ass as she moans into the kiss.
Hell, this girl's gonna get me in trouble.