Dirty Stepbrother - A Firefighter Romance (The Maxwell Family)

by Alycia Taylor

  “Okay, come with me,” I said.

  I took her up into the stands where only the staff members are usually allowed, and I found a seat for her. This way she’d get the chance to watch me without everyone looking at her for a change. I could see that she was grateful for this. I was starting to realize how difficult it was for her sometimes, and how much she often craved normality. Even in this small town, there were so many people that kept following her and taking her picture. It was better now that she didn’t dress as much like a celebrity anymore, but I knew she still got recognized a lot.

  I made my way back to Trace, who couldn’t stop talking about how beautiful Sloan was and how lucky I was to be spending so much time with her. He was practically drooling while he was talking about her. I told him that he would have to get a grip and concentrate on the rodeo if he wanted to do well.

  “I can’t man, I can’t stop thinking about her,” he said.

  I groaned. “You are impossible. Come on; you’ve seen beautiful girls before. I know she’s famous, but she’s still just a person. Okay, how about this . . . she’s there in the stands right now, about to watch us. So, make sure that you do everything you can to impress her, okay?”

  He chuckled. “Okay, you got me there. I better not make a fool of myself. Come on,” he said as he stood a little taller, “Let’s get out there and show her what we can do. We’ve got this.”

  Trace was better than usual that day, and so was I. It was clear that we were both trying to show off in front of Sloan, and thankfully it had worked. We took first place in the team rope and beat our competitors by far. I was elated that she had seen us do so well. I would’ve hated it if we had failed miserably in front of her. Afterward, I went to check on Sloan, and she squealed with delight and told me how exciting that had been.

  “I’m glad you liked it. Trace was showing off big time for you,” I said.

  She smiled. “Only Trace?”

  “Yeah, just him. I’m always that good,” I said and chuckled. “Anyway, I have to go. I just wanted to come up and see how you were doing. It’s the bull riding competition next.”

  She pulled a face. “That bull better be nice to you.”

  “He will be.”

  As I was turning to go, she called me back.

  “Yeah?”

  She pulled me closer and gave me a small kiss on the cheek.

  “For good luck,” she said.

  I grinned at her and walked out. But as I walked away I had to stop and catch my breath. What was going on with me? Why did that one small kiss on the cheek feel so good? I was starting to behave like Trace, and I had to physically shake my head to stop thinking about her. I walked out and saw Trace waving at me.

  “You look lost,” he said to me.

  I smiled. “I’m fine. Just thinking about the competition.”

  “You look like you’re thinking about something else. Or should I say, someone else,” he said and grinned.

  “A little,” I admitted.

  “Come on then; it’s my turn to get your head in gear. Shake it off. You can think about her later. This is not the time for you mind to wander. Get out there, get on that bull, and show her what you’re made of.”

  I laughed. “And so,” I said, “the student becomes the teacher.”

  I climbed onto the bull and made my way out. I wanted to look for her, but I knew that it would only disorientate me, especially as I didn’t have the time to do anything but ride the bull. So I did my best to concentrate on what I was doing. I’d done this a million times before, but this was the first time that I’d had so much on my mind too. I held onto the bull and listened as the crowd cheered me on. I was doing well, and I could almost feel Sloan smiling down at me.

  Then, just as I imagined her smiling face, I could feel that something was wrong. I was losing control of the bull. I tried to concentrate on what was happening, but before I knew it, my body was in the air. The bull had thrown me off. I landed down on the sand with a thud, and it took me a while to realize what had happened. I knew that I needed to get up and get out of there the moment I saw the bull running toward me. But before I had a chance to get up, he’d made his way right over to me, and trampled on my arm.

  I felt a shooting pain run up my arm, and I cried out in agony. Everything seemed to blur around me, and I couldn’t quite figure out what was going on. But judging from the reaction coming from the crowd, I knew that it was bad.

  Chapter Twenty

  Sloan

  I gasped. Brady had just been flung from the bull and thrown to the side. For a brief second, I thought he was dead because he just lay there. A hush went over the crowd as we all watched the scene in horror. Then, we saw him move, and we all sighed with relief in unison. I saw the bull running toward him, and the crowd cried out in horror as it went straight for Brady and trampled his arm. I burst into tears at the sight.

  I was just about to run out when I saw him stand up. He wobbled slightly, and we all waited with baited breath to see what was going to happen. Thankfully the bull had been restrained. I leaned forward in anticipation. Brady finally managed to steady himself, then he took off his cowboy hat and tipped it to the crowd for one of the loudest standing ovations I had ever heard or seen.

  I ran back down to see him while the crowd chanted “BRADY! BRADY! BRADY!”

  “Where is he?” I asked Trace, who was standing on the sides looking like he’d seen a ghost.

  He turned to look at me, his eyes wide and his skin pale. “He’s on his way. I thought we’d lost him for a minute.”

  I nodded. “Me too. That was the scariest thing that I’ve ever seen in my whole life.”

  “Here he comes.”

  Brady walked right up to me, and I wrapped my arms around him. I didn’t care that Trace was there or that a million other backstage people were hanging around. I kissed him squarely on the mouth for as long as it took for me to stop shaking again.

  “I told you that bull was a mean one. You could’ve killed yourself.”

  He smiled. “I’m okay. I think even the bull was trying to show off in front of you.”

  “Are you really okay?” I whispered.

  “I’m fine. But I do need to see someone about this arm of mine.”

  Trace walked up to us. “Dude, you had me so worried. That was crazy. I hope someone recorded that. You won’t believe how far he flung you. I can’t believe you’re still walking around right now. Come on, let’s go to the medic.”

  Brady turned to me. “Will you wait here for me? I’m sure it won’t take long.”

  I nodded. “Of course I’ll wait for you. Take your time. Get yourself put back together first and foremost.”

  I walked to the back and took a seat where there were not too many people. Thankfully everyone was so concerned with what had happened that they didn’t seem to notice that a celebrity was sitting amongst them. I tilted my hat down just in case and waited for Brady to return. I still couldn’t quite get over what I had seen. Brady had almost died in front of me. The thought was too awful to even contemplate.

  Brady returned about twenty minutes later sporting a clean t-shirt and his arm in a brace. I ran up to him to see what was going on.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. I’m going to be bruised for quite a while, but I’ll be fine.”

  “I cannot believe you are still smiling after what happened.” I knew that if I were in his position, I would be in tears. “You don’t have to act brave, you know.”

  He laughed. “I’m not brave. They’ve given me so many painkillers. Right now, I’m just in a bubble of happiness.”

  I chuckled. “You’re crazy; has anyone ever told you that?”

  “Oh yeah, all the time,” he said. “So, would you like to spend the day with me?”

  I frowned. “What do you mean? Shouldn’t you go home and rest?”

  “I told you, I’m on happy pills right now. And I don’t want to sleep. I want to spend the day with
you. There’s a fair going on right now. It’s all part of the rodeo, and it’s a lot of fun. Well, at least it will be with a pretty girl like you on my arm. My other arm, of course,” he said and laughed.

  I shook my head. “You really are on happy pills. Are you sure, Brady? I would love to go with you, but if you want to rest, I honestly don’t mind.”

  “I’ll rest later. The only thing on my mind right now is eating candy and winning you a stuffed animal.”

  “With that arm? I don’t think so mister.”

  “I have two arms you know. Come on; I’ll prove it to you.”

  I chuckled and followed him out to the fair. I felt like I was in the middle of a movie. The sounds of laughter and the smell of sweet candy filtered all around us as we walked. A jolt of happiness rose up inside me as I took everything in.

  “This is incredible,” I said as I admired the view.

  He looked at me with arched eyebrows. “Don’t tell me this is also your first fair?”

  “It is.”

  “Wow, Sloan, you really do come from a different world. We have these at least three times a year.”

  “You do? That’s so cool. The whole community comes out for it, from the looks of it,” I said as I looked at the swarms of people around me.

  “They do. But I’m sure you have plenty events like this in your hometown, too.”

  “Yeah, maybe,” I said. But I knew I wouldn’t go to them even if we did. When I got back to New York, I’d be re-entering a world of high fashion, constant shopping, and skinny lattes. When had that started to lose its appeal to me?

  “So, Miss Sloan, are you ready to see all the great strength and power I have in my one arm?”

  I chuckled, happy that Brady had put me back in a good mood. I wasn’t used to seeing this side of him. I thought back to the Brady that I had met that first day of shooting, quiet, solemn, unimpressed with the world. But here he was, laughing, joking and more talkative than ever before. What was going on?

  “Oh, I’m ready.”

  We walked over to the stall where a stuffed animal could be won by hitting a button with a rubber mallet. The man explained that as long as the indicator reached the red line, the stuffed animal was ours.

  “But let me tell you,” the man said, “it’s not easy to win one. We had to make it hard, otherwise we’d be giving all our stock away.”

  “Oh ye of little faith,” Brady said.

  “Are you sure you want to do that after what you just went through?” the man said to Brady.

  “Oh, I’m sure.”

  “He’s on happy pills right now,” I explained to the man.

  “Ah, well. They might make you happy, but I’m not sure if they’ll make you strong. Two dollars to enter, please.”

  Brady handed him the money, and the man handed him the mallet. He looked at me, grinned, and hit the button so hard that the indicator shot way past the red.

  “Whoa! Maybe happy pills do make you strong,” the man said. “Congratulations. So, Brady, what animal would you like?”

  Brady looked at me. “What animal would you like?”

  I looked at the choices on the wall and then pointed to a small stuffed horse in the corner. It wasn’t the most attractive of all the animals, but it was the one with the most meaning. The man looked at me as if I was crazy but didn’t say anything. The horse was clearly not the most popular choice, but he was probably grateful to be getting rid of some of his unwanted stock.

  “Thank you, Brady,” I said as I hugged her toward me. “I’m incredibly impressed by your great strength. This is Betty by the way.”

  “Wow, Betty has gotten small,” he said.

  “Betty is a good horse. She doesn’t throw people off her.”

  He laughed. “Yeah, you were right, that bull was mean.”

  “You see? You should always listen to me.”

  “Oh yeah? Okay, what should we do next then? I am at your mercy,” he asked.

  “How about we add an overload of sugar to your already happy state?”

  He giggled. He was looking a bit woozy, but it was only making him look cute. So far, he’d been masculine, sexy, hot, infuriating and brooding. This was the first time that I’d ever thought of him as cute. I liked it.

  “Sugar!” he said. “Yes. Let’s do it. I like that you’re eating sugar now by the way. You do NOT need to diet,” he said loudly.

  I shushed him and chuckled. “Don’t say it so loudly. But thank you. Who needs to diet with all this stress?”

  “Why are you stressed?”

  “I’m stressed because you fell off a bull and almost got yourself killed. I need sugar.”

  He grinned, and when I walked off, I could have sworn I heard him say, “And I need you.” But when I turned to look at him, he wasn’t saying anything. Perhaps I was just imagining it, I thought to myself.

  After a fun day out at the fair, I decided to take Brady back to my hotel room for a little while. He couldn’t drive in his state, and I couldn’t drive at all. I got the driver to take us to the hotel. I made us both a cup of coffee, and we sat on the bed chatting. I could see him getting sleepy, and I was just about to suggest that he got some rest when I saw blood seeping out of his shirt. I lifted it up and gasped.

  “Brady! Why did you tell me you were still bleeding?”

  “Am I?” he said. He honestly didn’t seem to notice it at all. Those must’ve been some strong pills he was on.

  “You are.”

  “It’s okay,” he soothed. “It’s honestly not a big deal at all. I’m fine.”

  “No, you’re not. You’re bleeding, and it doesn’t look good. Come on, let me clean you up. Wait right here.”

  I went downstairs to get a few things from the receptionist, who thankfully had an emergency kit on hand to give me. I went back upstairs to the room and spent some time cleaning his wounds. When he was all cleaned up, I told him to lie down.

  “Lie with me,” he said.

  I smiled, took off my shoes, and snuggled in close to him. As much as I had enjoyed my day out at the fair surrounded by so many people, it was also good to just be alone with him.

  “I can’t believe how quickly my time has gone here,” I said. “At first, a month seemed like such a long time. But it flew by, don’t you think? I’m already leaving on Wednesday.”

  “What? I thought it was Saturday.”

  “Yeah, they’re finished with the shoot. They managed to finish it quicker than they thought they would. So we’re leaving Wednesday now. I can’t believe it.”

  “Wednesday. Wow. How do you feel about leaving? You must be excited,” he said. There was a strangeness to his voice that I couldn’t place. Although maybe it was just from the pills.

  “I feel odd. I don’t know. It’s hard to explain. I didn’t think it would be this hard, to be honest.”

  He was silent for a while. “I feel odd too. Sloan?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Can I sleep here tonight?”

  I smiled. “Of course you can.”

  We talked for a little while longer, but it didn’t take Brady long to fall asleep. I got up, changed out of my clothes and into some pajamas, and then climbed back into bed beside him. I switched the light off and lifted the duvet up over us. Then I leaned over and kissed him softly on the cheek.

  “Goodnight, Brady,” I whispered.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Brady

  On Wednesday, I woke up at three in the morning. I lay there willing myself to fall back to sleep, but it didn’t happen. Eventually, I crawled out of bed, made myself a cup of coffee, and pulled out my old laptop. I hadn’t used that laptop for a very long time. The only reason that I even knew it was working was because Ryan had used it when he was here. He’d laughed at how dusty it was, and had made sure that all the connections were still working. He’d called it my ‘fossil piece’ and said I’d be laughed at if anyone else saw it. But despite that, he’d been surprised that it still worked so well.
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  I took it out and typed in ‘SLOAN HILL.' Millions of pictures and articles popped up about her. I scrolled through them all, unable to match the person on the screen with the person that I’d come to know. It was hard to imagine her as this person, dressed up and hands filled with shopping bags. In almost every picture she was shopping. Why would anyone need to shop that much? But I couldn’t seem to look away. I looked at every picture. Then, I saw a link to a video, and I realized that the last movie that she’d been in was available to watch. I had no idea that I could even watch new movies online. This was the movie that had made her famous. I clicked on it, sat back, and watched.

  When the movie ended, it was almost time to go to the ranch. I made some breakfast and another cup of coffee and sat thinking about the movie. It had been a sweet romantic plot, and she hadn’t been the main character. But I could understand why people said she should’ve been. She had a presence about her that was hard to ignore. When she looked into the camera, it felt as if she was looking straight into my eyes. I couldn’t believe how much I was going to miss her.

  The more I thought about it though, the more annoyed I felt with myself. The pictures that I’d seen on the computer had shown me that Sloan was not the type of girl that would fit into a place like this. She was a city girl, and she liked the finer things in life. She’d been a great cowgirl, but she was only doing her job. Why had I allowed myself to get so involved with her? After all, she was just a girl. And one that never had any intentions of doing anything other than coming out to the countryside and getting her fix of a country boy. She’d done it for the role. She’d wanted to immerse herself in a new life. But it wasn’t who she was. She was Sloan Hill, the actress. And I was Brady Maxwell, the man that will forever live alone.

  When I looked down, I saw that I had finished my breakfast without even realizing it. I had barely tasted a thing. I sighed. I needed to snap out of it. Before Sloan came along, I’d never let anyone inside my head. I’d always enjoyed being by myself, and I needed to find a way to do that again. I got into the shower and tried to wash away all my feelings along with my body.