Dirty Stepbrother - A Firefighter Romance (The Maxwell Family)

by Alycia Taylor

  “It’s no problem at all. I’m happy to help.”

  “Thanks, man. So, what’s news on your side? Does Brady still have someone staying with him?”

  “Yeah, it seems that way. His truck is always there. I haven’t seen much of him, but every now and again I’ve seen him walking by.”

  “And you still haven’t introduced yourself?”

  I shook my head. “Still not.”

  “But it’s been two weeks now since you first saw him!”

  “I know. I know. But whenever I get home, he’s already inside the house. I’m not exactly going to be able to just go and knock on the door.”

  “Why not?”

  I looked at her in exasperation. “Uh, because I’ll look like a bit of a creep, don’t you think?”

  “Or, you know,” she said, “you’ll look like the friendly neighbor you usually are. It honestly won’t harm you to go and say hello.”

  I sighed. “You’re right. I keep telling myself that I should go and say hello, and then I get home and chicken out. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Maybe I’m becoming a bit of a hermit these days.”

  “Oh dear. That’s not a good thing. Well, maybe I should threaten you?”

  “Threaten me? What do you mean?”

  “If you don’t go and introduce yourself to him by the end of the week, I’m going to come over to your house and do it for you.”

  “You wouldn’t!” I gasped.

  She chuckled. “Oh, you know I would.”

  “That’s true. I know you. Okay, fine. I’ll do it. I promise.”

  “Good. You see, I’m a good friend to you.”

  “You just threatened me. How is that being a good friend?”

  “Because I’m stopping you from becoming a hermit. That’s why.”

  “Yeah, yeah. You’re right. Okay, well, I promise. Oh, there’s Wendy at the door. Man, she’s cute. I better go.”

  I stood up to get my coffee and opened the door for Wendy. Her father was sitting in the car, waiting to see that she got in okay. I waved to him and ushered her inside. I wondered why he hadn’t come to see me. I hoped he wasn’t embarrassed from the last time. But he’d offered me a big smile now, so maybe he just had somewhere to be.

  I spent the next hour working with Wendy, who was even more delightful than before. Probably because I was now comparing her to Martin. Anyone would be delightful next to him.

  “Have you been practicing?” I asked her.

  She nodded and went on to execute her sentences with near perfection. I looked at her in astonishment.

  “Wendy, that’s wonderful. I’m so proud of you.”

  “Thank you. I’ve been practicing every day,” she said and smiled. I barely noticed the scar anymore, and I was impressed with how well she said the word ‘practicing’—that one would’ve been almost impossible only a few weeks ago.

  When her father showed up, I wondered if he’d wait in the car again, but he came out with a huge smile on his face. I was glad. I didn’t want things to get awkward between us.

  “Your daughter is doing exceptionally well,” I said to him as soon as I opened the door.

  “She’s an amazing little girl. Oh, I got you something,” he said and fished in his bag.

  “You did?”

  He pulled out a box of chocolates and handed them to me.

  “Wow, what’s this for?” I said.

  “Just for everything you’ve done.”

  “Oh goodness, thank you. You didn’t have to, though. I mean, this is my job. It’s what I do for a living.”

  “I know. But it’s been wonderful. And I really look forward to seeing you every week,” he said and smiled at me again.

  He looked forward to seeing me every week? That was a bit odd. I only saw him for a few minutes when he dropped off or collected his daughter.

  I smiled uncomfortably. “She’s a great kid to teach,” I said and tried to force the conversation back to being about Wendy.

  “Yes, she is. And you’re a great teacher. I was thinking that maybe third time is the charm.”

  “The charm? What do you mean?”

  “Emily Wessler, will you go out with me?”

  I gulped. Surely he was not asking me out again? “Uh, thank you so much. Really, it’s so nice of you, Brett. But I’m just not looking to date at that moment. I’m not going to change my mind, but I really appreciate you asking me again.”

  “Oh, come on—just one date. I thought you enjoyed teaching my child.”

  “I do. Wendy is amazing. But that’s got nothing to do with going on a date. I’m just not ready at the moment.”

  “Did you have a bad breakup or something? Because I would never hurt you, Emily. I’m one of the good guys. I assure you. Why don’t you just give me a chance? Did someone hurt you?”

  There was something in his voice that I didn’t like. An edge to it that I hadn’t noticed before. I couldn’t figure out what it was, but he was making me very uncomfortable.

  “Uh, no. Nobody hurt me. I’m just not dating at the moment. It’s nothing against you. I promise.”

  “Nothing against me? You turned me down three times, Emily. How am I not supposed to get upset at that?”

  The change in tone caught me off guard, and I took a step away from him.

  “It’s not a crime to turn someone down. Like I said before, you’re a great guy, but I’m just not dating at the moment.”

  “Give it some more thought at least. I think we’ll be great together, and I’m a firm believer of never giving up.” He smiled at me and then turned to his daughter who was sitting at the end of the room with her books. “Wendy, time to go!”

  She ran up to him, and the two of them walked out together.

  “Just think about it. I could make you happy.”

  I didn’t answer him. I just waved goodbye to Wendy and smiled awkwardly until I was sure that they were gone. Then I walked into Terra’s office where I knew she’d be standing and listening in.

  “Did you hear that?”

  “I heard it. Okay, I take back what I said about dating him. He’s super creepy man. He was so pushy.”

  “I know. What the hell? Asking me out once was sweet. Asking me out twice was also sweet. But three times? That’s pushing it a bit.”

  “Yeah, I didn’t like the way his voice changed either. He had a weird tone to it. Why don’t you speak to Mr. Dalton about it?”

  Mr. Dalton was our boss, and the two of us got along well with him. He worked from home most of the time, so we barely saw him, but when we did, he was always kind-hearted. He’d started the company because his own daughter needed a speech therapist, and since then his company had gone from strength to strength.

  I shook my head. “No, if I get him involved, then he’s just going to tell Brett that he’s not allowed to come in anymore.”

  “Isn’t that what you want? I mean, isn’t that the exact point?”

  “Well, yeah. But that would also mean that Wendy doesn’t get to finish her sessions with me. And she’s doing so well. I could easily kick Brett out, but I can’t do that to Wendy. She’s such a sweet girl. And I had no idea that her father was such a creep. It makes me want to protect her even more.”

  “Dammit,” Terra cried. “You’re right. We can’t do that to Wendy. That would be devastating to her. Anyway, he’s probably not a creep. He just really likes you and is trying his best to have you. I’m sure after getting turned down three times he’s learned his lesson.”

  “I sure hope so,” I said.

  “Well, just make sure that you’re not in this place alone when he’s here.”

  “I’m hardly ever here alone. You’re normally here. And I know you’ll kick his ass if you had to.”

  She laughed. “I will. You have my word for it. But hopefully it won’t even come to that. Now, before we go home, how about we tuck into some of those chocolates he gave you. Is it sealed? I don’t want to eat chocolates from a maniac if they’re n
ot sealed.”

  I laughed. “They’re sealed. And yes, good idea. We might as well at least eat the chocolates.”

  As usual, we ate so much that we felt sick, and then spent another half an hour on some weird sugar high. We drank coffee with the chocolate, so the sugar high was mixed with a caffeine high. It was incredibly amusing.

  “Right, that’s my exercise done,” Terra said with a smile.

  “Exercise? Since when did you do any exercise? You’ve been sitting in front of me this whole time.”

  “Hey, laughing is great for abs,” she said.

  “And chocolate is not.”

  She waved her hand dismissively. “I’ll focus on the laughing part, thank you very much. It’s a highly underrated sport. So, what are you up to tonight?”

  “Oh, I have an exciting night planned. I need to go home and change into something sexy.”

  “What? You do? Tell me more!” she exclaimed.

  I burst out laughing. “How well do you know me? I have nothing planned. I think I need a cat. That way I won’t be home by myself.”

  “You will not get a cat and be that sort of woman already. If you’re going to get an animal, then at least get something quirky like a hedgehog or a guinea pig.”

  “It’s not a bad idea. My cousin had a guinea pig once, and I fell in love with the fluffy little chubster. They’re very cute.”

  “You see, I’m full of good advice,” she said and then popped one more chocolate into her mouth and groaned. “What am I doing? Take these things away from me.”

  I was still chuckling to myself when I headed home. I was in a good mood, and the sugar-caffeine high had made me feel almost tipsy. Which, I concluded, was great for introducing myself to the handsome new neighbor. I was still figuring out what I was going to say to him when I got home and saw that my house was on fire. I stopped the car and stared. Just then, a fire truck pulled up next to me, and a group of men went running toward the house. One man told me to stand back, and I stared in horror as they began hosing down the flames.

  “What the hell?”

  Chapter Seven

  Grant

  I was getting into the groove of things at work. Ranch life was very different from office life, and I found myself feeling more alive than ever before. That afternoon, before dinner with Brady, I decided to call Peter to see how he was doing. He’d been on my mind a lot this past week.

  “Hi, Peter. It’s Grant.”

  “Grant? Grant Maxwell?” he said as if he knew a hundred Grants.

  “Yeah. The one and only.”

  “Oh wow, this is a surprise.”

  I chuckled. “You’re right. I just realized that I’ve never actually called you before. Luckily I still had your number from work. I actually had all the guys numbers but I deleted them all when I left work. Well, except yours of course. I thought it would be nice to see how you were doing. How are things at the office? You must be almost done there.”

  I knew he was grinning even though I couldn’t see him.

  “Things are going great. It was so weird without you at first. I felt like I had nobody on my side. Then, I got the most incredible phone call. I’d been applying for all sorts of jobs that sounded interesting, but I didn’t seem to be getting anywhere. Then, out of the blue, one of them called me back. There’s this place, not too far from where I live, that sells all these organic vegetables, and they have a market every week that is very successful.”

  “The Chandler Market?” I asked.

  “Yes! You know it?”

  “Of course. Everyone who lives in Chandler knows of that market. I’m not exactly a market sort of guy, but even I thought it was really cool.”

  I knew that if Ian or one of the other guys from the club had seen me at the market, I would’ve been given grief for it forever. But it really was a nice market, and one that I would even go to again. It was worth tarnishing my reputation for it.

  “Yeah, same here. It’s hard not to like that place. Anyway, just in the slim chance that they might be looking for someone, I sent my CV in. The guy called me and invited me over for a chat. And the two of us just clicked so well. And, as it turned out, his wife was actually friends with my wife. Anyway, to cut a long story short, he offered me the job as manager. He said he was desperate to get someone to run the place and the thought I’d be perfect for the job. I’d be handling pretty much the whole place. I’d be almost like his right-hand man.”

  “Peter, that’s amazing. Good for you for trying out new things like that. And that’s a far cry from the real estate job.” Looking at Peter, he was the sort of man that didn’t seem as if he would stand up for his dreams. It was nice to know that first impressions weren’t always what they seemed.

  “Exactly! I wanted to do something totally different. I’m still seeing my month out at work, but I went to help out the other day at the market just to get a feel for the place, and I loved it. I felt more alive than I’ve felt in a long time. My wife couldn’t believe the difference.”

  “I’m really happy for you.”

  “How about you, Grant? How is life treating you? Are you doing anything?”

  I told Peter how I was working at the farm with my brother until I figured out what I wanted to do with my life, and I told him about my volunteer work as a firefighter, and he seemed impressed.

  “I knew it! I just knew you needed to do something outdoors. That office job was going to be the death of you.”

  “You were right. I’m feeling so much better about life these days. And it’s all thanks to you. Which is part of the reason why I wanted to call you. I wanted to say thank you for everything. I’m not much of a phone guy, but I figured this was one phone call I wanted to make. Come and visit anytime.”

  “I might just take you up on that.”

  I put the phone down feeling happy and then made my way downstairs where Brady was dishing up for us.

  “Seriously, you eat like a king here. What is that?”

  “Chicken stew. Smells amazing, doesn’t it.”

  “It does. Sorry to keep you waiting. I was talking to an old friend from work. He’s the one that really gave me the push to leave the company. He left it too.”

  “Ah, that’s great. So, how are you finding things now that you’re a bit more settled?”

  “I really like it, Shotgun. I feel freer than I have in a long time. You’ve got something very special going here. And with the firefighting stuff, I feel free again.”

  “Ah, I’ve been meaning to ask you about the firefighting. So, you’re enjoying it?”

  I nodded. “I am. I’m going to start looking at how I can get involved in it more. They’re a great bunch of guys, and they’ve accepted me so easily. Thanks for helping me out with that, by the way.”

  He shrugged. “It’s no big deal, Patriot. Like I said, the people in this community are very helpful. That’s why it’s hard for me to ever imagine leaving a place like this. There’s just something special about the place and the people.”

  “Tell me about it. I noticed it immediately.”

  “Then again, it’s not for everyone. A lot of people like the anonymity that the city life provides for them. So I guess it’s all about figuring out where you want to stay.”

  “You’re not a city cat,” I said to Brady. “You were meant for this place. You were always so quiet before.”

  He chuckled. “I’m still quiet.”

  “Yeah, I guess so. But you’re a lot more relaxed here. Oh man, seriously this food is amazing. Why don’t you marry the cook?”

  He chuckled. “You haven’t met her yet, have you?”

  “No, she’s never around when I am.”

  “Well, she’s sixty-three years old, she has a husband, and she had two kids. I don’t think there’s any potential love life between us in the future.”

  I sighed. “That’s a pity. She’s amazing. I’ve been to tons of restaurants in the city which all claim to have the best food. But they’ve got noth
ing on this woman. Hey, what’s that smell?” I said suddenly.

  A strange smell was drifting in from outside.

  “I don’t know. Smells like someone is burning something.”

  “Like a bonfire? That smells too strong for a bonfire.”

  I got up and looked outside. I gasped when I saw where the fire was coming from, which was definitely not a bonfire at all.

  “It’s your neighbor’s house. It’s on fire!”

  “What? Oh no!”

  I quickly got out my phone and called the guys from the fire department with the address. They arrived moments later. I wasn’t sure if they’d let me help them, as I had no gear on me, but the moment they saw me, they told me that my stuff was in the truck. I hurried to change, grabbed what I needed, and helped them with the fire. It took seven men and two hours to finally calm the flames. When we were done, I looked at the house in sadness. As good as it was being part of a team that helped people, there was always a moment of sorrow when you realized the devastation of the event.

  “Good job, guys,” I said to the team. “Thanks for coming out so quickly.”

  “Any idea what happened?” they asked me.

  “No idea. I was sitting at the dinner table when I smelled something. Suddenly the house was on fire.”

  “Do you know the owner?”

  “I know her name is Emily, but that’s all I know. Have you seen her?” I asked. I’d briefly caught sight of her as I went running into the house, and I was grateful that she hadn’t been inside.

  “Yeah, she’s over there. I told her to wait.”

  “Okay, I’ll go and talk to her. Thanks again.”

  I walked over to Emily, who was sitting with a blanket over her shoulders and staring sadly at what used to be her home. She had a few tears rolling down her cheeks, and I’d never wanted to hold someone more in my life. I’d only seen her from afar, but seeing her up close only confirmed her beauty. Emily was gorgeous. Her hair was silky and blonde, and was tied up in a high ponytail, and when she turned to look at me, I saw that her eyes were a dark blue.

  “Emily?” I asked.

  She nodded. “Yeah. I’m Emily. Thank you so much for taking out the fire.” Her voice was just a whisper. It was clear that she was still in complete shock.