After I get the final load of chicks in and try to cool my disappointment that Jo left without so much as telling me, I start wandering the lot by the truck until I see her headed toward me. She’s got a funny step to her walk that’s not like her. Like she’s suddenly walking with a lot of cares she usually abandons.
"Hey, I picked your chick up it’s own little palace.” I thumb toward the bed of the truck, but she ignores me. “Where'd you head off to?" I ask, watching her yank open her door and climb in without giving me anything to go off of.
"Can you just get us out of this hick-ville?" she quietly snarls and keeps looking at her side that's closest to the door.
I watch her carefully but start the truck and head back toward the house. I need to get a few more things done around there before we can chill tonight. I told her I'd let her rest. I didn't mean I was gonna let her sleep the rest of the day away.
"You okay over there? All that peanut butter you've been eatin' lately give ya the stomach cramps?"
She keeps holding her stomach but she hasn't said a word to me since we left and we're almost home.
"Fuck," she huffs quietly and shifts so her back turns to me. "Brandt, drive faster." It's a soft request and when I look over 'cause that tone of voice wasn’t hers, I see her lifting her hand to wipe away what might be a tear. The swipe to her cheek leaves a streak of what I think is blood.
"Jo, what happened to you? Is that fuckin' blood?" I blurt, slowing down.
“Please just drive!” The distress in her tone has me stepping on the gas harder when we hit the back road.
"Jo! Are you bleeding? What the fuck happened?" I can see the house in the distance and I floor it. The minute we get home, she better talk to me.
When I swing into the driveway, my heart is pounding because I can see drops of sweat on Jo's brow but she's still, clutching her side.
Donna's in the driveway watering some flowers and Jo groans and shakes her head. “No. Don’t let Donna see.”
I grip the steering wheel tight and nod at Donna when I keep driving by. "Fuck, Jo. What the hell's going on? I'm panicked over here." I make the quick decision to take her down to the creek, at least to have a little privacy. I think I have a first aid kit in the back of the truck we can use till we get home to fix her up right. What the hell kind of trouble did she get herself into?
Once I stop the truck I reach over and try to shift her to at least face me to figure out what happened. I don't know if she fell, if she's sick, or if she's just tryin’ to get back at me for the snipe incident last night. It's really hard to figure out which is which if she ain’t even talking to me.
"God," she groans in frustration and wipes her face again. "Don't look at me." She jumps out of the truck, I think she’s pissed I'm seeing her cry. She walks to the creek before pulling her tank top off and squatting by the water. The blood on her side makes me rush over.
"This ain’t a joke, Jo," I blurt. "What the hell happened? Why are you bleeding?" She splashes her side with water and I yank her to face me. "That fuckin' creek ain’t the place to wash this out!"
“It’s like a fresh bath,” she mocks my words from last night, but I'm strung way too tight to even smile. Someone or something hurt her and she's not letting me help her.
"We can't go back to the house," she says with worry. "If Donna sees this shit, she'll flip. God damn! Fucking pussy ass dick!” Snarling, she grips her side again and bounces from pain. "It's not bad, but the blood." She looks at her hands.
I let out a groan and move her hands away, dropping to my knees to check out what the fuck happened to her. A goddamned stab wound, that's what she's attempting to hide from me.
"Shit, city girl. Who the fuck did you piss off?" I pull my shirt off and push it against the wound, trying to hide my shaking hands. "Come on. I got stuff in the truck to fix you up." Thankfully it doesn't look deep so I'm hoping some butterfly bandages will do. She's right, if Donna finds out about this she'll never let Jo leave the house with me again.
"Cash," she hisses his name as we head for the bed of the truck.
My stomach drops at her insinuating that my fucking brother did this to her. He's insane! I’ve always known this, but this time he’s gone too far.
"You're sure it was him?" I clip out, pissed enough I could literally beat the shit out of someone or something.
She dully looks over at me then rolls her eyes. "He's hell-bent on me helping him with something, but I never let him get far enough to ask because I think he just wants help feeding his sadistic side. You're brother's a douche."
I nod, clenching my jaw tight while I clean her side. I hate that this is hurting her and when she winces I pause and lock my eyes on hers, waiting until she can breathe through the pain so I can finish.
"He's not right in the head, Jo. I told you to stay away from him. Maybe if you didn’t walk away from me we wouldn't be doing this right now." I’m probably putting too many bandages on this, but I'd rather overdo it than have her bleeding all over.
"Shut up, Brandt," she says through grit teeth while I finish up. "I couldn't take fucking Suzy Homemaker anymore." She hops off the tailgate and starts walking in a circle, trying to walk off the pain and I grab her tank top.
"Suzy Homemaker, huh?" I wring her top in my hands after rinsing it out in the water. "You mean Kinlee?" I let out a chuckle. "She's harmless, Jo." With a glance at her shirt, I grin. She's jealous. She'll never admit to being jealous, but she is or Kinlee's personality wouldn't have bothered her so much.
Her eyes roll and she holds out her hand for her shirt while she claims, "I need a nap."
"You can't wear this thing back to the house." I hold out the bloodstained tank and shake my head. "Donna's nosey. She'll see us coming back and be on you like a hawk the minute she sees the blood." I toss her my shirt. "Put it on."
The second she catches it, she lifts it to her nose and when she inhales deeply, she freezes, her eyes darting to mine. As a smirk starts to lift my lips, she turns away and pulls it on. She smelled my shirt, and not to check if it was dirty, but because she likes my smell.
"Thanks," she mutters and gets in. "I can just ask Donna to take me to town. I didn't get peanut butter."
"No can do, city girl. You're goin' home to take a nap, whether you like it or not. I gotta go grab my dad's shit anyway so make me a list and I can get whatever your tiny black heart desires." I grin over at her, trying to cheer her up, all while trying to not flip out in front of her over how much I want my brother dead over this.
I fuckin' mean it. He's got another thing comin' if he thinks he can rough up my gi—… my step sister.
She chuckles and shakes her head. "I should probably get a job. I don't care if Donna pays for my shit, but you're not."
"Oh, that reminds me!" Shit, I can't believe I almost forgot. I reach into my back pocket and take out the cash from the chicks and try to hand her half the pile. "Your cut." I beam at her confused expression.
"My cut? From what?"
"Helpin' out with the delivery. We're not volunteers." I toss the cash in her lap when she doesn't take it from me. "See. I told you today would be fun. Well. Kinda fun at least."
With a chuckle she reaches over and shoves the cash into the waist of my jeans, her knuckles brushing my bare skin. "Not my money, Brandt. If anything, I made your job harder."
I glance down where her knuckles just burned through my skin then slowly move my gaze back to her. "This is your cash. You worked for it. Take the fuckin' money, Jo." I pull it out and shove it at her. "I'm dead serious. I didn't wake you up and make you start your day to make you work for free. Don't insult me."
"You're so pushy." She slowly takes the money. "Thanks." Her hand gently holds her side while she turns her gaze out the window.
"Yeah," I grunt, throwing the truck into park behind the house. "And you're stubborn as a mule. I think we're gonna work well together, city girl." I wink at her and hop out of the truck, rushing over to her side to help her down and try to lessen the pain. "Let's get you some pain meds and a soft, warm bed." I wrap my arm around her to help, but I know she doesn't need it. I just need my hands on her right now. She's all tough, tattoos, and attitude. But today was a side of her she'd have never shown me. If anything it made this whole situation even more confusing because hell, I actually hurt for her.
When we get inside, Jo heads to the bathroom and I shoot a quick text to Bo, filling him in on what happened today and asking for reinforcements tonight. I need to stop this shit with Cash before it gets completely out of hand. Today was already enough to show me he's become more insane, like everyone's been saying lately. I can't have Jo in danger over some stupid family rivalry shit.
She walks back into the room and she's still wearing my shirt but she's changed into these tiny shorts and I have to pry my eyes away from those legs. Hell, she's taunting me and she doesn't even fuckin' know it.
"You hurtin'? Did you take anything yet?" I ask, clearing my throat and walking to the kitchen to grab her pills because I know she's gonna try and tough it through this.
"I'm fine. Thanks. Just need something to eat." She walks over to the refrigerator and opens it, staring for a few minutes.
"You want me to make you anything?" I lean against the counter and watch her stare blankly at the half-empty fridge.
"No." She chuckles and turns to face me, taking the pills from my hand. "God no. Thanks." Walking to the sink, she drinks them down and just stands there a minute.
"You shouldn't take that without food in your stomach." I grin when she glares at me. "Just sayin’. Don't want you getting sick."
"I was really looking forward to moving here and being left alone." Her eyes look into her glass before back to my face. "I mean all of the bullshit. Having to fight to survive every day. I don't know why I expected people in the south to be any less human than people in New York."
I feel for the girl, and probably for all the wrong reasons but it's there and I’m not stamping it down. Letting out a sigh, I reach around and open the cupboard above the fridge and slide out the jar of peanut butter I stole from my dad's pantry late last night. Grinning, I spin and hold it out to her with a quirked eyebrow.
"Will this help?"
She grabs it. "More than you know." Grabbing two spoons, she hands me one before opening the lid.
"How about we chill for a bit before I head out and grab those things you needed? Watch a show or somethin'. Just turn your brain off from my shithead brother and all that shit." I'm trying to get her to not completely hate being here, but no surprise, he's fucking it up.
Waking up, knowing she's here, is becoming a habit. It's only been a few weeks, but having company is nice. And having company that looks like her is even nicer.
"Brandt, you don't have to baby me," she drones, taking the peanut butter with her while she walks away. "Go do whatever it is you farm boys do. I'm not your responsibility. And thanks for getting me cleaned up." She plops onto the bed then scoops another glob of peanut butter.
I chuckle and kick off my boots before joining her. She gives me a look like I've lost my mind, but I ignore her.
"Chores are done. I don't have anymore work to do today," I lie. "Plus, you're currently hoarding my snack." I scoot closer to her so our legs are touching and again, I have to pry my eyes from her bare skin.
I keep my eyes on the peanut butter, but I know she's staring at me. When I shove the spoon into my mouth, her chin lands on my shoulder and she's close enough I can't turn my head without smacking faces with her.
"Why are you being nice to me?"
"I like you, city girl." I shove my spoon back into the jar and leave it there. "You're...different. Exciting."
She laughs and pulls away, dipping her spoon again. "We're extremely different. And yet." She shifts, sitting back against her pillows and flips on the TV. "My mom married your dad, so I'm the only odd man out."
"Sometimes it's good to be the odd man out, Jo," I say, moving back against her headboard to get closer to her.
"Yeah." She sets the peanut butter on the nightstand then instantly shifts and is straddling my lap. "Sometimes it is." Her lips press to mine before she bites down on my bottom lip then sucks.
I didn’t expect that move and it takes me a minute to grab her hips. Her body pressed to mine like this is a fucking dream. Something this great doesn't just happen like that, does it? Her hips start to rock and she’s grinding against me, waking my dick up. Hell, now I know I'm definitely not dreaming. I let my lips trail down to her neck and pull her against me, as close as possible, being careful not to push against her side.
"I don't wanna hurt you, city girl," I whisper, nibbling on her earlobe. "But I think you just started something I'm not about to stop."
"You're not going to hurt me," she whispers, her pussy still grinding while she swipes my hat off my head and slides her fingers through my hair. "We probably shouldn't be doing this." With the last of her words, she moans and pushes harder against my dick.
"Stop thinking about it." I grunt then flip us over and lay her on the bed under me. My fingers dance just below the hem of her shorts. "You should probably stop talking about it too." I push my lips to hers again and she lifts her hips slightly, the silent plea to get us skin on skin.
My fingers move slow but steady as I open her shorts. My eyes catch her gaze for a few seconds, making sure this is what she wants. When there’s no protest, I slide her shorts off and discard them on the floor.
The minute I realize she's not got any underwear on, I groan and bite my knuckle. "Shit, Jo."
She grins and wiggles her body as I climb back up to kiss her. Her hands push between us and I lift enough so she can get to my belt buckle. This city girl will never get it undone, but I wait patiently. To my surprise, she flicks it open like she's done it a thousand times before and I start to wonder if she has. My begging dick makes the thoughts leave my head and I push off my jeans, kicking them to the floor. There’s no hesitation in her slim fingers as they snake down my boxer briefs.
"You eager?"
Her full palm presses against my dick and her eyes float closed as she bites her bottom lip. A quiet moan escapes her as she starts stroking me and I drop my head then make quick work of pushing up my shirt she’s wearing, finding her tits and hard nipples with my tongue.
"You'll tell me if I'm hurting you, right?" I whisper, my eyes falling to the bandage on her side.
"You're not going to hurt me," she promises with panting breaths.
I crawl down her body, pushing her legs apart and trail my tongue down her thigh. She squirms under me when I do the same to her other leg and I grin, enjoying the tease. I press my mouth to every inch of her flesh I can. Her legs, her knees, her stomach. The one place she wants my mouth is the last place I visit, and I thank God I was raised with patience because hell if I didn't want to go straight there.
When my tongue licks one long stroke up her folds she gasps and bucks up to meet my face. Goddamn she tastes good. Her fingers weave through my hair and she grips hard, shoving my head down and I go willingly, with a low chuckle.
"You're kinda pushy." My tongue darts out again and lands on her clit.
"You're too good at this." She moves her hips to start fucking my face as she curses.
As soon as her noises grow to levels that tell me she's about to come, I back off and kiss my way up her body, landing on her lips. The way she kisses me with her juices all over my mouth is hot as hell. I rub my dick against her and squeeze my eyes shut, trying not to come already. She just feels too damn good.
"Condom," I whisper, unable to stop rubbing myself against her. "If we were in my room I'd know where they were." I look at her through hooded, lust-filled eyes and she pushes up to tease me.
"I don't have condoms." She quietly chuckles. "I didn’t plan on fucking anyone here." Her finger streaks down my cheek to my chin. "This is such a bad idea." The grin on her face tells me she loves every minute of this bad idea.
I groan in frustration and press my forehead to hers a minute. Pulling back, I take her hand and place it between her legs. She bites her lip through a giggle as I slide off the bed.
"Play. I'll be right fuckin' back." I nod toward her hand and she starts rubbing small circles around her clit. I have to pry myself away from watching the show.
I've never ran up steps so fast in my life. I swipe the package from my nightstand, thankful I still have some left, then run down the stairs, eager to see her playing with herself again. Skipping three steps at a time, I skid to a stop just at the bottom when I hear Donna's voice come from Jo's room that's just around the corner I almost whipped around butt ass naked.
"Just a nap," I hear Jo say.
"You're napping all the time, Jo. It's not healthy."
"Not really. I went into town all day." Jo huffs and I stare at the condoms in my hand before retreating as quickly as possible back upstairs before we're found out. Cursing the entire way up the steps for not fucking locking all these doors.
Next time I'm dead-bolting that shit.
I wait until I hear Donna leave, but by that time I'm so weirded out from her mom just barging in on us that I don't think we should push our luck today.
"So that was almost real bad." I chuckle. "Thank God for being safe." I hold up the condoms and she lets out a small laugh.
Covering her face, she exhales. "Brandt, that would have been really fucked up if she walked in on that." She tosses me a cellphone and says, "Program your number please."
"She just give this to you?" I stare at the phone and chuckle. "This is the newest iPhone. Is this even out yet?"
"Mommy has a lot to make up for." She yawns then flips to her stomach. "I had to act like I was freezing and couldn't uncover." Laughing, she reaches over the side of the bed and grabs my shirt she was wearing earlier. "And I don't know how she missed your jeans and underwear on my floor."
I watch her ass shimmy back into those shorts and sigh. "Yeah, me either." I walk over and pull my jeans on over the boxers I put on upstairs, opting to leave the belt buckle undone because I like the way Jo stares at me when my jeans hang a little lower.
"I'm leaving these right here," I say, sliding open her nightstand and putting the condoms in. "For next time."
She laughs and shakes her head. "Think there should be a next time?" Biting her bottom lip, she looks up at me from her spot on the bed.
I lean down and take her chin in my hand. "I think there will be a next time." I press my lips to hers and let the kiss linger longer than I intended. "And a time after that. And a time after that." I kiss her again. "And if I'm lucky, a time after that too.”
She laughs then groans, lying back in the bed. "If she didn't threaten to come back and check on me, we could finish this." Her eyes flick down to my unbuckled jeans and she slightly shakes her head looking away. "You're ridiculously fit."
I glance down at my abs and chuckle. "Yeah, I guess so. That's farm work for ya." I shrug and walk across her room, checking my text from Bo. "Hey, I'm heading out for a bit pretty soon. You feel up to coming along?" I really don't think she needs to be there, but I also feel like a tool for not inviting her when I go anywhere anymore. How fucked up is that?
She moans and shifts her head to look at me. "I feel like taking a nap. You going into town?" Reaching over, she grabs the money I gave her and holds it out.
"Uh..." I wasn't planning on it. "Yeah. I'll be by a store. Whad’ya need?"
Her eyes dart to the peanut butter jar before she giggles. "Peanut butter. I'm addicted. It's a serious problem." She reaches for it.
"Got it. So about ten tubs of peanut butter." I chuckle, shoving the money into my pocket with no plans on using it. "Anything else?"
"Um." Her eyes flick to my dick again and she shakes her head no. "Thanks."
I bend and kiss her softly, fighting the urge to stay and lie here with her. When she winces from trying to get comfortable, I remember my plans for tonight are much more important. I head upstairs and grab a new shirt and when I make it to the truck I check my messages.
Bo: He'll be at Sloane's tonight. Pick me up at seven.
Brandt: On the way.
Starting the truck, my dad waves at me as I pass by and I almost feel guilty for not helping out more today but there hasn't been a day in the last few months that I’ve had off, and even today I got the chicks delivered.
I need to take care of this shit with Cash. That's the first thing on my list.
Step one- get Jo peanut butter.
Step two- kick Cash’s ass.
Step three- beer.
Step four- go home to Jo and tell her everything's gonna be alright.
I grab Bo and we make our way to town. “Hang here, I’ll be right back.” I jump out before he can follow and I jog inside the market for peanut butter.
As I pass through the produce, fresh flowers catch my eye and I pause. With a glance over my shoulder I grab a bouquet then hurry to the peanut butter aisle.
“What’re those for? You gonna try makin’ out with your brother?” Bo laughs at the flowers when I put them in the backseat with the bag of peanut butter.
“Donna,” I blurt my lie and jump into the front, ready to head the next town over to Sloane’s.
Sloane's is a hole in the wall bar that houses some of the scummiest dudes in all the surrounding towns.
"Thanks for comin' along tonight," I tell Bo. "I just gotta make him see he can't go around roughing up girls."
"I called a few guys from school. They'll be there too," Bo says, checking his phone.
"Why?" I glance over at him and he looks at me like I’m an idiot.
"Because your brother's an idiot who may just have all his dirty goons jump us for no reason. They won't come in with us, but they'll be there in case things get crazy."
"I'm not plannin’ on shit getting crazy." I’m planning on one good fucking swing to make that face even uglier, then hightailing it outta there before anyone's stabbed.
I got someone waitin' on me at home. I'm not about to fuck tonight up, but I need to make sure he knows his place.
We pull into the lot of Sloane's and I shake my head. How people can hang out in a shithole like this is beyond me. There's probably fuckin’ feces all over this place, and not just animal shit either. I hop out of the truck and see some of our boys chillin' on the outside of the parking lot and tip my hat to them. When the bar door swings open a puff of smoke follows. I wait for it to pass before taking my last breath of clean air and stepping inside. Tipping my cowboy hat to the bartender, he gives us a look like we don't belong here.
I tend to agree.
I spot Cash's crew before I see him. Making a beeline for him, my mind keeps flashing back to the blood on Jo today and my rage starts to build.
"Cash!" I blurt from behind his crew of goons. The room grows quiet and some of the men in front of me step aside. I see Cash sitting there, flocked by big tits and bare skinned girls, barely covered with small strappy leather things they probably call a shirt. I roll my eyes at him. "I gotta talk to you," I say, crossing my arms and holding my ground.
"Ain't you a little young to be in here?" He gets to his feet, not hesitating to approach me.
"You fucked with Jo? Twice now?" He's not going to intimidate me. Not this time.
"Jo...Jo...Jo... That pretty little freaky girl? She was all up on this cock just earlier today. Don't come in here trying to act like a tough big brother." He steps chest to chest with me.
"You stabbed her, Cash," I growl, not letting him push me around anymore. "You call that her being all up on you? Leave her alone."
He laughs and his crew follows. Looking around at them, he steps closer to me and slaps my hat up so we can glare eye to eye. "Fuck you, Brandt. Imma fuck your sister. Then imma fuck her mama. Then I'm gonna fuck yours and your dad's asses up." His boot toe kicks into the front of mine.
I let out a chuckle and take a miniscule step back. "You try to intimidate people, Cash. You'd never touch a hair on Donna's head and if you touch another one on Jo's, I'll have the cops on your ass so fast you won't know what to do." I adjust my hat and raise my eyebrows at him, shrugging. "Don't be a fuckin' tool. She's not your type."
"Not my type." He snorts. "If I can fuck her, she's my type, and I'm gonna fuck her. Run along with tubby and get the fuck outta here, Brandt. You don't belong over here."
"I can go anywhere I please." I narrow my eyes. "Unlike my big brother, I'm actually free to go wherever I please. Because you know. Good little brother." I gesture to myself. "Then there’s the completely fucked in the head older brother." I point at him and the room grows so silent you could hear a pin drop.
He sucks his tongue over his front teeth like he does when he's loosing his cool.
"Fuck outta here," he barks and slaps my hat off my head.
As much as I want to kick his ass, and I know I probably could because he smells like he’s been drinkin’ since yesterday, I'm in a room full of men that probably are carrying right now and I don't want to get shot tonight.
I chuckle and pick my hat up, dusting it off and adjusting it on my head. "Stay the fuck away from her," I growl, then nod at Bo and get the hell outta this bar before it burns down from the rage simmering from Cash right now.
My phone vibrated a few times when we were in there, so I grab it from my pocket and unlock it, letting myself relax a little when I see the text’s from Jo.
City girl: That's a fucking hickey!
Following the text is a picture of her chest and my eyes go wide. She follows that pic with a few laughing emojis, then a meme.
Farm boy: I have no clue where that could have come from. You been kissin on the fish in the creek again?
I end with a few laughing emojis and one wide-eyed one then hit send.
Right as another text from her comes through, my phone's yanked out of my hands and I spin around, glaring at Cash. When I try to take it back, he pulls his blade and turns so I can't grab it.
"What the fuck?" he slowly drawls, looking over my phone. Lowering it, he turns to face me. "You're fuckin' your step sister." The look on his face is actually shock, and I haven't seen that on him probably ever.
"No," I blurt, trying to save this situation but I watch him stare at the screen again then I see the anger start to build. "Give me the fucking phone, Cash." I try to yank it out of his hands but he pulls back again.
"If he moves, cut him," Cash tells his friends then hands him his knife. Staring at the picture of Jo, I see him smirk and the rage that's been building hits record highs. I shove him and just miss grabbing the phone.
"Fuck you!" I blurt, taking a swing at him and connecting with his jaw.
He drops the phone and his eyes go wide. I scramble to pick it up and shove it back into my pocket.
"Stay the fuck away from us."
He turns, about to walk away and when I let my guard down, I get his shoulder in my gut before he lifts and slams me to the dirt. His swing connects with my jaw. I taste blood and immediately instinct kicks in, making me flip and roll him to his back, swinging at his face. When I connect with his eye socket, I take a fist to the back of the head, throwing me off Cash. I stumble to my feet and see my crew is in a brawl with his, but Cash and a few others have me surrounded. I spit out a mouthful of blood and feel satisfied when I see the split across his eyebrow.
"I promised mama I would never hurt you, Brandt, but you ain't leaving me many choices, you little fuck."
"You only beat up girls in your free time then?" I press my tongue to my split lip. "You fuckin’ suck, Cash."
"She asked for it." He tries to grab me but I duck, backing away. "She likes to play rough." When he reaches for me again, this time I’m grabbed from behind by someone else and they lock me in a nelson so I can't move my arms. "Now you're fuckin' your step sister after your brother already fucked her, you sick queer."
I haul off and use the steel toe of my boot to kick him as hard as I can, hitting him right in the jaw. "You didn't fuck her," I growl.
The sirens can be heard from a mile away, and the minute they pierce the rowdy crowd, Cash's crew is first to start scattering.
"Fucking pussies!"
I suck in a breath and wince when I move to stand. His crew hops on their hogs and haul ass out of here before the sirens get any louder. Bo's yelling for me from the parking lot and it takes me a few deep breaths to realize I can't be caught here. I slide in the driver’s seat and we take off in the opposite direction the sirens are coming from.
"Dude, you got so many good hits in!" Bo says way too excitedly from the passenger seat. I grin over at him and realize my lip’s definitely split. "Bunch of the boys wanna head to the lake." Bo glances up from his phone. "You down for a couple drinks?"
"I could use one after that." I check my phone but the screen was shattered in the fight. Probably when Cash tackled me to the fucking ground. I shake my head and toss it in the middle console then turn down the side road that takes us to the lake.
There's already a good crowd when we arrive and the minute I get out of the truck the clapping starts. Kinlee walks up with a beer and plants a kiss on my cheek. I've known this girl for years and she's always been this hands on. It just is what it is. She’s a sweetheart with a heart of gold.
"You're such a good brother," she chirps then looks around. "Where's Jo?" Her words make me wince.
I’m not her brother.
"Home. Not feeling good." I groan and try to stretch but Cash and his goons got some good shots in tonight.
"Well, we can still have fun without her." She walks away with a little too much of a swing to her hips and I roll my eyes.
"One drink and I'm out. I got work in the morning," I say, taking a gulp.
One drink with my friends is never just one drink. One turns to two, two turns to three, and three turns to me stumbling in the back door of our place at one a.m., cursing when I can't get the fucking light on.
"Mother fucking light switch." I slap at it a few times.
"You're drunk." Jo's voice makes me spin and look into the dark room, my eyes not able to focus.
"Did you fuck him?"
I've spent the last four hours trying to rid my head of my brother telling me he fucked her. I know he didn't fuck her. She wouldn't do that.
Right?