Abandoned Girl (Neighpalm Industries Collective, #1)

by Winston, Lexie

  Shaking my head, I answer his curiosity-filled question. "No, not me, I just work with the horses on the farm. Maxine’s the one who will travel with them and ride them if needed." Declan's eyes glaze over at that information, and he goes back to his food. Asshole number two.

  Jacinta claps her hands, the ice queen facade breaking for a moment. "Oh, I haven't seen Maxine in so long! I must ask her to come out here for a ride next time she's in town." Well, ouch, that snub certainly hits its mark—asshole number three. I wonder if we’re going to go for a full seven tonight. The meal continues, and I sit quietly, eating the food that Nana had placed on my plate. She, Poppy, and even Brad try to include me in the conversation, but it seems like the siblings are doing everything in their power to change the subject every time I’m asked something.

  Finally, Brad has had enough. "Right, that's it!" His voice thunders across the room as he stands up, placing his hands on the table. His children flinch as if they're not used to this kind of reaction from him, and Cecelia looks smug from her place by his side as if the thought of his children getting into trouble pleases her; I must remember to ask Nana about her. The table falls into silence, the anticipation for what’s to come making it awkward and uncomfortable.

  "This is what's going to happen. Harlow is going to spend the day with each of you. Getting to know you and all about your part in the family business.” They all start to protest, all pretense of kindness gone.

  "Silence!” Brad bellows, holding up his hands, the man seeming to be at his wit's end. He runs his hands furiously through his gray-streaked blond hair, his hazel eyes looking tired. "You will do this for me. You will do this because I am begging you to give her a chance to see how wonderful I know you can be. Please, Harlow!" he pleads, turning to look at me, his voice almost breaking under the weight of today’s emotions. “I know they’re not earning it right now, but give them a chance.”

  I look around the table, and I see his kids squirming. They don't like that they’ve upset their dad, and it’s the first sign of a warm emotion I’ve seen all night. This gives me hope, but then one by one, I meet their eyes. I can see the malice and the blame, and my heart sinks even further; apparently, I’m the only one who thinks they’re the cause of their father’s upset. This is not going to be fun. Regret sweeps through me, and I’m filled with just one nagging thought. Maybe I should just go back home tomorrow.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Kai

  Holy shit! I watch as Harlow rakes my brother over the coals, and my cock is as hard as a rock. She is fierce, taking none of his crap. Her eyes are flashing with anger, and her chest is heaving, drawing my eyes to her perky breasts. Her nipples are peaked through the shirt, her emotions subconsciously showing in her body. Drawing my eyes back up to her face, her plump lips are all I can focus on as she gives as good as she’s getting.

  My mind flashes back to Jaxon when he first came back from Connecticut. He’d been on cloud nine, raving about a girl he’d met at the new club over there and how he couldn't wait to go back and look for her again. He’d talked about how hot she’d been and how off the chart their chemistry was. The best thing was she’d had no clue who he was.

  Then it flashes to the day Dad told us about his biological daughter. I can’t say it didn't cause my heart to skip a beat and that insecure part of me to worry about whether he was going to replace us now that she was around. But I quickly snapped out of it. I know Dad has enough love for all of us, and when he told us about the situation she was coming from, my heart nearly broke for her. The poor girl suffered the same as we all had before Dad rescued us, but she was unlucky enough to have to suffer longer than all of us put together. I decided then and there that I wasn’t going to make waves and would welcome her with open arms.

  But I was the only one. When Dad had finally left us on our own, my siblings turned feral.

  “We cannot let this happen,” Jacinta says from where she's sitting on the couch as soon as Dad gets out of earshot. Her eyes flash with anger, and her body is rigid and tense. “Who knows who this woman is and where she came from. Probably some gold-digger who read about us in the tabloids and thought we’d make an easy target. Well, she's not going to know what hit her.” Her body is shaking with so much emotion that Jaxon puts his arm around her in comfort and squeezes tight. He starts to whisper words to her, too softly for me to hear. Although she’s angry, I can also see the scared little girl inside, and I watch as his hugs finally make her crack. Tears start to run down her face, and she quietly sobs into our brother’s chest. I stand there, helpless in that moment at the sight of her tears. Jacinta’s tough and doesn't cry often, so this must be really digging at her insecurities.

  “Now hang on.” Oliver stands up and walks over to the nearby cabinet, picking up his tablet he’d left there. “Let’s do some research before we get too upset. I’m friends with Maxine on Facebook. Let’s see if we can do a little social media stalking.” He sits back down on the couch next to Declan and starts to run his fingers across the screen.

  “I think we should hire a investigator.” Declan is the picture of calm sitting next to Oliver, and if you didn't know him well, you wouldn't be able to see that he was upset, but I can. His jaw is clenched, and there’s a vein throbbing in his temple. Declan has abandonment issues similar to Jacinta and Jaxon. In fact, we all do, but his led to always needing to be in control. He doesn’t like it when things don't go his way; it throws his little world into chaos. So this offer stems from that.

  “Why don’t we hold off on that for a bit?” I suggest. “I wouldn’t want Dad to find out you’re investigating her. Didn’t you see how thrilled he was about the idea of her? He’s already devastated about her mother and the situation the girl’s been in. Come on, man, you’d break his heart.”

  I can see him mulling it over in his head before he gives me a quick nod. “Fine, I’ll wait and see what she’s like when she gets here. But we’re definitely revisiting that option the moment something seems off.”

  Breathing out a sigh of relief, I turn to my other brothers. Holden and Thomas have been quiet, and they didn't show much reaction when Dad had told us, but I can see the strain in both of them as well. The tension around the eyes and the taut muscle in their bodies. Before I can talk to them about how they’re feeling, Oliver finds something.

  “Here! I found her. Her Facebook page is private, but I’ve got a photo of her and some basic information. She’s twenty-five like Jaxon and Jacinta, and she goes to Tufts University. It doesn't say what she does there, but it does give her relationship status as single, and she lists the Bostons as her family. That’s pretty much it, though there are a few photos of her with Maxine. Man, she’s smoking hot.” His eyes gleam with appreciation, and Declan leans in to have a look. Completely shocking me, the iceman’s eyes heat with appreciation, his tongue coming out to brush across his lip. That’s quite a reaction from him, and Thomas and Holden must see it too as they all leave their seats and move around so they can look over their shoulders. Unable to resist the temptation, I follow them.

  The picture shows a beautiful blonde girl with high cheekbones, cat-like hazel eyes, and plump lips. She and her friend are smiling naturally at the camera, but you don't even notice the friend over her presence. A whistle escapes Thomas’s mouth. “Holy hell, she is hot,” he mutters, his Irish accent thickening on the words.

  Across from us, Jacinta scoffs while wiping the tears from her face. “God, that’s so typical of you lot. A pretty face and a impressive rack and you go gaga. Haven't you learned your lessons over the years?” Her barb hits a direct shot, and we all shift uncomfortably. She’s right. All of us have been fooled by a pretty face before then discovered alternative motivation. Most of our past relationships have crashed and burned as soon as we realized our significant other was just trying to get to one of our siblings or some of the family’s money or advantages.

  “Show me,” Jaxon barks, holding out his hand. I can tell he’s a
lready made up his mind by the set of his shoulders, but he was never one to be left out. She’s upset his sister, and that automatically makes her public enemy number one, no matter if Jacinta is being oversensitive or not.

  Oliver passes him the tablet with the picture, and as soon as he sees it, his frown deepens, and his lips curl back with a snarl. “Fucking hell. That bitch.” He’s shaking his head in disbelief. “Well, she certainly had me fooled.” His fury eases, and it’s replaced by a disgusted look.

  He throws the tablet on the coffee table in the middle of all of us. “That...” He points to the picture. “Is the girl that I met at Club Neighpalm in Connecticut.”

  “The one you were so into?” I ask him, surprised, and he snarls again.

  “Fuck, I’m such a fool. She must have known who I was.” He runs a hand through his hair in frustration before it drops back down again.

  “But didn’t you approach her?” Oliver asks. “Twice, from what you told me?”

  “Yes, but it had to have been a set-up. She planted herself right in front of me,” Jaxon growls. Fuck, there we go with the conspiracy theories. I roll my eyes internally. Jaxon and Jacinta are so freaking dramatic at times, but they’d continued to trust people a lot longer than the rest of us and got burned for it. That last bit of trust got spectacularly shattered by the last person they’d ever suspected.

  “But how?” I question him, and he shakes his head.

  “I don't know, but it’s just too much of a coincidence, isn't it?” This time, he sounds unsure, a little of the disgust softening from his gaze. I go to respond, but before I can, Holden does. He’s been quiet all this time, listening and taking it all in.

  “It really doesn't matter if it is or not. She’s part of our lives now, and we have to decide what we want to do about it.”

  Jacinta sits up straight at his words, her eyes wide. “We’ll get rid of her, of course. No one gets to make a fool of our family and not pay for it.”

  The others are nodding their heads and murmuring their agreements, but I can’t meet their eyes. I don't agree; I don't think we should do anything until we know more, and Oliver seems to be on the same page because he’s not saying anything either. We’re both certainly more easygoing than the rest of our siblings. I’m not sure if that has to do with our individual businesses just not having the kind of pressure the others are under, or if it’s got to do with the way neither of us take life too seriously. Both of us never settled down with any one girl in particular through school and college, so we weren’t burned like the rest of our family managed to be. I tell you what, the Summers family certainly knows how to pick ‘real winners.’ Even Dad, if this new daughter's mom was anything like the rest of them.

  Just as I’m about to speak up, Declan puts me on the spot. “Oliver, Kai, you’re both quiet. You know what the rule is.”

  “Family first,” Oliver replies quietly, and my blood starts to boil at his easy capitulation.

  I start to argue, but Declan’s firm “Kai” stops me in my tracks. Huffing out a breath, I nod my head, and as they start to make plans, I make a promise to myself. I'm going to give the girl a chance. I just won’t interfere with what they do.

  My thoughts come back to the present, and my dad’s fury practically pulses through the room. At some stage, Poppy and Harlow exited the room, leaving behind Nana and Dad and their scathing anger. I don't think I’ve ever seen either of them that angry before, not even when Jaxon totaled his first car after he lost control joy riding. They were just relieved he wasn't injured.

  As they both lecture us on our behavior, I can see, by the glint in their eyes and the set of their bodies, that it has no effect on my siblings. They’re in it for the long haul, and all I can do is hope that our family comes out of this intact on the other side.

  Harlow

  DINNER DIDN'T GET ANY better; it was an awkward, stilted affair, and I escaped back to my bedroom as soon as I could, Brad’s plea running through my mind on repeat. I'm not sure why he wants me to learn about the different businesses. Whether he hopes I’ll take a genuine interest in his company, or if it's a way to force his children to get to know me. But it had been decreed that Jacinta would be the first person to show me her little corner of the Neighpalm business. I think Brad had hoped we might bond since we’re both women, but I could tell by the look in her eyes that wasn't going to happen. And let's face it, they only have to look at me to know I'm not any kind of fashionista.

  My bag had been dropped in my room when we first arrived, and I find that someone had unpacked it while I was at dinner. Gulping in horror, I frantically search for my backpack until I discover it next to my bed. Grabbing it and throwing it on the now empty bed, I search the inside zipped pocket. Sighing with relief, I pull my favorite vibrator out and slip it into the top drawer of the bedside table. Max had made me pack the damn thing, saying I’d need it to hold me over until I could track down my mysterious dance partner back in Connecticut. I guess that won’t be going anywhere now, so I guess it’s lucky she packed it. God, I wouldn't have been able to face any of the staff if they had found it and put it away for me. I shudder with the thought.

  Grabbing some sleep shorts and a tank out of the drawer, I open the door to the ensuite bathroom. I'm super pleased I decided to stay on the same side as Nana and Poppy, so I don't have to deal with noisy room neighbors in the other wing.

  Stripping off, I leave my dirty clothes on the floor and turn the faucet to hot. A veritable waterfall comes pouring down, and, looking up, I notice there’s one of those wide showerheads built into the ceiling. Shivering with delight, I step under the flow of water.

  Groaning, I feel the tension leach from my body and flow away, just like the water flowing down the drain. Leaning my head against the wall, I let the water batter my shoulders and ease the aches and pains caused by being so stressed today. Before I think about all the negatives, I try to focus on the one bright spot aside from Nana and Poppy. Brad seemed pleased to see me, and I feel like there was a spark of connection there. I’d like to see where we can go with that. See if we can build something that may eventually resemble a father-daughter relationship.

  As for his kids, that was a big fat fail. I’m pretty sure that Brad would be open to coming to Connecticut to visit me, or maybe we could meet in a neutral location. That just seems a more sensible idea than going through what I did today. Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I do make one decision. I'm not going to make any decisions today. I’m just going to take each day as it comes, and if it gets too much, I'll book myself a flight home.

  What I'd really like to do while I'm out here is organize the use of a car and visit some of the local zoos. See if I can make some inquiries regarding internships. I know it's possibly farfetched, but I might as well give it a go. With the way things went with my “siblings,” who knows the next time I’d be in California. I'd also like to get down to San Diego and check out the killer whales and other aquatic animals at SeaWorld. I watched that documentary Blackfish a while back, and I've always been fascinated with them. This will probably be the only chance I’ll get to see them up close. Maybe I could steal Brad, Nana, and Poppy away for a day, and we could make it our first mini family trip. Other than that, there are a lot of touristy things I want to do while here, and if I’m stuck shadowing Brad's kids, I’m not going to have a lot of time to do things like that. I'll wait and see how tomorrow goes, and then I can always discuss it with him.

  Grabbing the shower gel and loofah that was in the shower, I give myself a quick wash. Using the provided shampoo and conditioner, I wash my hair with something magical that smells like apples and springtime and instantly makes me feel better. Turning off the faucets and squeezing the excess water out of my hair, I climb out, grabbing a towel and rubbing my hair vigorously to dry it more before wrapping it around my body.

  When I walk back to my bedroom to find my body moisturizer, I don’t get more than a step out of my bathroom before there’s a h
and over my mouth and an arm wrapped around my chest. It pulls me back against a hard body. I struggle, but he has me in a vise-like grip, and I can’t scream with a hand over my mouth.

  "Stop wiggling," Jaxon commands, and my body stills instantly. "Don't scream if you don't want Nana to find you like this." His voice is low and hostile in my ear, and I nod as his hand slips from my mouth to wrap around my throat where he puts on a little pressure. "I don't know what your plan is here, but I want you to know I’m watching you. You may be able to win over some of my family members, the more gullible ones, but most of us know trouble when we see it.” His breathing is rapid in my ear, each exhale causing goosebumps to pebble on my arms and legs. His hand tightens around my throat, and my core throbs with desire, my pussy becoming wet with need. I shudder with both lust and shame as pure want runs through my body at the memory of this man and his seductive moves on the dance floor. Oh my God, there is something wrong with me that this turns me on.

  A groan escapes his mouth, and, looking down, I realize my towel has started to slip thanks to my struggling and is now sitting below my nipples, which are both peaked to hard points. Screw this!

  I start to struggle some more, and my ass makes contact with his crotch. From the feel of it, he's not as unaffected as he pretends to be. Jaxon loosens his grip, and I manage to rip myself free from his arms. Juggling the edges of my towel, I try to save my modesty, but it's a losing battle, and it falls to the ground, puddling at my feet. I'm left standing naked, my back to Jaxon, as a hiss of breath escapes his lungs. Turning to face him, I put my hands on my hips and raise an eyebrow. My heart is galloping a million miles an hour, and my bravado is an act, but I can't show any weakness. He's like a wild animal who will pounce if he suspects his prey is getting ready to run.