Dirty Stepbrother - A Firefighter Romance (The Maxwell Family)

by Alycia Taylor

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Brady

  The one good thing about working at the ranch was that I was busy. Very busy. In fact, ever since the film crew had left, I had been busier than ever before. I had never been more grateful for work. I remembered telling Grant once, when he’d first moved to the area, that the ranch would either fill your head with too many thoughts or take them all away. This was still true. But the more work I had, the less time I had to think. The night before Harold had called me and asked me to bring Trace with me to work the next day. I’d sent him a message, and he’d replied saying that he would be there. I told him that I’d pick him up at seven because I didn’t trust him not to be late.

  When I arrived at his house, he wasn’t waiting outside like I’d told him to be. Not that I was surprised. I stopped the car, sighed, and walked up to his front door. I knocked for a full five minutes before he finally opened the door. And when he finally opened, he was completely naked and most definitely hung over.

  “It’s seven!” I said loudly and tried to ignore his naked body in front of me.

  “No need to shout,” he said.

  “Come on; I need to get to the ranch. And you promised to come with me and help out today, remember? Harold is expecting you to be there today, and I don’t want to let him down.”

  He groaned. “Remind me why I agreed to this.”

  “Because you need money.”

  “Oh yes. That’s a good enough reason. Okay, fine, let’s go. But there better be some strong coffee waiting for me.”

  He stepped out of the house, and I burst out laughing.

  “What’s so funny?” he said.

  “You do realize that you have no clothes on, don’t you?”

  He looked down and laughed. “Clearly not. Okay, give me a second.”

  “Don’t you dare go back to bed,” I shouted.

  Thankfully he came back five minutes later wearing jeans, a t-shirt, and two different shoes. I decided not to tell him about the shoes.

  “Oh, I’ve been meaning to ask you,” Trace said as I started the car. “What’s up with you and the actress? Did I imagine the day of the rodeo or did she really kiss you?”

  I knew he was going to ask me about that. I’d been gearing up for the question all morning. “She did. But it was just a bit of fun. She was practicing for her role.”

  “Oh yeah? Wow, lucky you. I wish she had practiced on me.”

  “Didn’t meet any nice women last night?” I asked and hoped he’d buy into the change of subject.

  “Of course I did. All the women like Trace Collins,” he said.

  I laughed. “Did you really just refer to yourself in the third person?”

  “Trace Collins most certainly did.”

  I groaned. “You’re a pain. I hope you’re ready to sweat out that alcohol again.”

  “I’m never ready for that. But I do need the money.”

  Having Trace around turned out to be more of a blessing than a curse. He spoke nonstop and kept telling me stories about the party he was at the night before. One story would lead to another, and before I knew it, we were already halfway through the day. At one part of the day, Trace stopped and looked at me. He asked me if anything was wrong.

  “You’re being unusually quiet today. I mean, I know you’re normally quiet, but you seem even more so today.”

  “And you’re even more talkative than usual. I think we balance each other out,” I said and laughed. I hadn’t answered the question, but he didn’t seem to notice.

  We worked until late afternoon, and I was impressed with how much we had done in just a day.

  “It’s been good having you here. I don’t know how you managed to do so much with a hangover. I honestly thought you’d be lying around all day moaning about the work.”

  He laughed. “I know I mess around a lot, but I’m a harder worker than you think.”

  “I know you are. I just like teasing you. But seriously, how do you party so hard and then work so hard the next day?”

  He shrugged. “I just do. Also, I knew that if I didn’t work, you’d be on my case all day like you were the last time. Don’t worry; I’ll balance it out by sleeping the entire day tomorrow. You should try it sometime.”

  I chuckled. “Maybe I will. Come on, let’s go and see Harold. He’s calling us over.”

  “Well done, boys,” Harold said and grinned at us. “You did a good job today. I didn’t realize how much we had neglected the ranch with the film crew here. But we’re already catching up, and it’s all thanks to you. Thanks for coming on such short notice, Trace.”

  “Thanks for asking me. It was actually a good day out.”

  “Here’s your cash for the day,” he said and handed Trace and envelope.

  “Why so much? Not that I’m complaining, of course,” Trace said as he peered into the envelope.

  “It’s Saturday, so double pay.”

  “Oh yeah? Thank you. Call me out on a weekend any time please.”

  Harold laughed. “I’ll definitely keep you in mind.”

  “I’m just going to wash up. Brady, I’ll meet you at the car.”

  “Sure.”

  I turned to Harold and laughed. “He’s such a character. He was completely naked when I showed up at his house this morning. Which, let me tell you, was not the best sight for me to see so early in the morning. And he was still completely hung over. But he came anyway and worked really hard. I don’t know how he does it.”

  “He’s young,” Harold said. “I could probably do that at his age too.”

  “I’m also young, though.”

  “Yeah, but you’re cut from a different cloth,” he said, and I didn’t bother to argue the point. “So, how are you doing? You know, after everything?”

  I shrugged. “I’m good. It’s good to have the place back again.”

  He looked at me strangely and then nodded. “I wouldn’t worry about anything, Brady.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I have a feeling you’ll see Sloan sooner than you think.”

  What was he talking about? I hadn’t said a word to Harold about Sloan. I had barely spoken to anyone about her. And when I did, I made it clear that there had been nothing going on.

  “I don’t understand,” I said.

  “Ah, I know you better than you think, Brady. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you not to worry too much. Okay?”

  “Uh, okay,” I said even though I had no idea what he was talking about. I saw Trace walking toward the car, and I quickly said goodbye and left. Harold was looking at me in a way that was making me very uncomfortable. It was almost as if he could see right through me.

  I dropped Trace off at home and then made my way back to my own house. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my evening. For the first time in a very long time, I felt strange being alone. I thought of cooking up some steaks on the barbecue, but changed my mind. I decided that I’d go for a long walk before the sun came down, and then I’d order in some pizza and attempt an early night.

  I was just about to leave for my walk when the phone rang.

  “So, do you miss me?”

  I laughed at the sound of Ryan’s voice. “Not really. It’s nice and quiet without you.”

  “You miss me,” he said.

  “Not even a little.”

  “Come on, admit it,” he said. “Admit that you missed your brother.”

  “Okay, just a little. But really, not all that much.”

  He laughed. “I miss you too, big bro.”

  “So, how’s life? Gotten into any fights lately?”

  “I have a big one coming up this weekend. I’ve been preparing for it all week. If I win this one, I could really make a name for myself.”

  “I think you already have a name for yourself. But good luck, I’m sure you’ll do great.”

  “Thanks for the faith. So, I heard you did a bit of MMA fighting yourself lately.”

  “I did? What does that mean?
” I felt like everyone was talking in riddles around me lately. As if I was supposed to just know what they were talking about.

  “You got thrown off a bull! That’s almost like what I do, minus the bull of course. Although, some of the men I’m up against look very similar to that bull. I saw the video.”

  “The video? What video?” Again, more riddles.

  “You should look it up on that ancient laptop of yours. Someone filmed it and put it up. I must say, I love how you tipped your hat off to the crowd afterward. You’re quite the actor. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me about that. But damn, that must’ve hurt.”

  “It did,” I said. “But I just didn’t want anyone to know that.”

  “Spoken like a true Maxwell brother. So, what’s the deal with Sloan?”

  Argh! Not Ryan too. When were people going to stop asking me about her? “She’s back in New York,” I said. I didn’t see the point of saying anything else. That really was all there was to it. One minute she was here and the next she was back in New York. The end.

  “Haven’t you seen the news?” he said, and then he chuckled. “Oh wait, of course you haven’t.”

  “The news? What’s that got to do with Sloan?”

  “She’s all over it. Apparently, she isn’t who she says she is.”

  “Well, yeah, she’s an actress. Isn’t that everyone in that business? They have two different lives. Their real life and the one they portray in movies. Why is that such big news?” I said. I thought about how upset she got whenever she spoke about the media, and it made me feel sad for her. They really never left her alone.

  “No, she’s really not who she says she is. I don’t know all the details, but apparently she is not the person that she has been telling everyone she is. Anyway, it’s probably a good thing that she left then, huh? At least you don’t have to worry about her anymore. Now you can move on. Don’t waste your time on someone that can’t even be truthful.”

  What the hell was he talking about? I thought about asking him some more, but I decided against it. I didn’t want to talk about Sloan anymore, and I was sick to death of people constantly bringing her up.

  “Uh, yeah,” I said. “I guess you’re right. Anyway, I have no idea what’s going on, but it’s no concern of mine anymore. The crew has gone, and Sloan is out of my life. She was nice while she was here, but like you say, she was probably acting.”

  We spoke for a little bit longer, mostly about the upcoming fight, and I tried not to think about what he had told me. I considered looking her up on the internet but decided that I didn’t want to know. I did, however, look up the video he had told me about and I found it almost immediately. I cringed as I watched myself being thrown off the bull. Then I looked into the crowd, and only because I knew where she was sitting, I could just make out Sloan’s face. My stomach did a somersault at the sight of her, and I quickly shut closed the laptop.

  I sat there for a while, just staring at the closed laptop. Then I grabbed my coat and headed out. I needed some fresh air.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Sloan

  “What is that man talking about?” I said to Victoria the moment we were safe inside the apartment.

  “I have no idea. Look, you know what these guys are like. They’re sharks. They just want a story out of you, and if they can’t find one, then they’ll probably just try and make one up. I wouldn’t worry. What’s wrong? You look so pale.”

  “It just took me by surprise, that’s all.”

  She nodded. “I know. That guy was a bit of a creep, too. But seriously, these things happen all the time. Remember when they tried to make out that you and I were a couple?”

  I laughed. “Oh yeah, I’d forgotten about that. Okay, you’re right, that does actually make me feel better. He’s probably just doing really badly at this job at the moment and he’s trying to find a story where there’s nothing. Idiot!”

  Victoria stayed a little while longer, and we tried to forget about what had happened by trying on all the clothes that we had bought that day in our shopping spree. I wasn’t really feeling it, but I was glad for the distraction at least. When she left, she turned to look at me.

  “Are you going to be okay?”

  “Yeah,” I lied. “I’m fine. The fact that I have people running around making up stories about me can only mean that I’ve made it in the acting world.”

  She laughed. “Now that’s the right kind of attitude to have! Well, call me if the creep shows up again. But I highly doubt it. You’ll wake up tomorrow and see that he’s moved his attention on to someone else.”

  “I hope so,” I said.

  But that wasn’t what happened. I woke up the next day to an angry message from my agent, telling me to be at her office early Monday morning. I thought about checking the internet, but I couldn’t bear to see what people were saying. Instead, I spent the entire day in bed and didn’t leave my apartment even once. I watched endless stupid movies and did everything in my power to prevent myself from looking at the internet, or calling Dorothy. I was still hoping that I’d wake up the next day to an apology from her.

  But on Monday morning there was no apology on my phone, and I knew that I had to go and see her. Hopefully she’d be able to clear things up for me, and hopefully I’d be able to calm her down. I knew that Dorothy was tough, but so far she’d been nothing but kind to me. That voice message was the first time I’d even seen that side of her.

  I got the driver to get me from the back door, just in case there were reporters up front. I climbed in and told him to take me to Dorothy’s office. I liked my driver. He was probably the only person that never asked me any questions about my life. I was grateful for the half hour of silence as he took me to her office. When I arrived, I thanked him and quickly made myself to her office with my head down.

  The moment I arrived, I knew that something was terribly wrong. The receptionist barely looked at me, and when she took me to Dorothy’s office, she quickly closed the door behind her without offering me anything to drink.

  “Dorothy, what’s going on? You sounded so angry on that message. I was going to call you back but thought it would be better to talk face to face.”

  She glared at me. Her eyes flashed with so much anger that I immediately recoiled and sat back in my chair as if I’d been stung.

  “Sloan, when I agreed to take you on as my client, I believed that you were who you said you were.”

  “I—

  “But,” she said without letting me speak. “Clearly, you’ve been keeping things from me. And I don’t appreciate that. Let me tell you why. You see, when I take on a client, I go out of my way to make sure that they get everything from me. I give them my complete undivided attention. And in return, I expect them to be honest with me and to give me the respect that I deserve. But you have not done that. Everyone knows that I’m your agent. It was something that I was very proud of. And perhaps I told a bit too many people about it. But now you’ve just gone and made me look like a complete fool. Why would you do this?”

  I could feel the anger rise up inside me. How dare she speak to me like this? “Maybe if you told me what’s going on, I’d be able to answer you.”

  “How can you not know? It’s been all over the papers.”

  “I haven’t looked.”

  She raised one perfectly plucked eyebrow at me. “You haven’t looked? What have you been doing?”

  “I haven’t looked. So just tell me.”

  “I thought you went to Yale,” she said. “I mean, that’s what you told me, right? Actually, I have the forms right here. Ah yes, Sloan Hill, attended Yale University.”

  Shit. “Why does that matter? I mean, surely the only thing that matters is that I’m a good actress and that I work damn hard. I don’t see whether I studied at Yale or not makes any difference.”

  “Oh darling, it makes all the difference in the world. Because now you’re viewed as a liar. Someone that lied their way to the top. You should’ve j
ust told the truth.”

  “Okay, I should’ve. I’m sorry. It’s hard to get people’s attention when you’re just starting out, you know. I had to make myself look better than I was. It really shouldn’t matter.”

  “And when were you going to tell me about the porn?”

  My blood went cold. “What?”

  She smiled at me and leaned back in her chair, clicking her pen on and off. The sound was driving me crazy.

  “Oh, I know everything now, Sloan. The whole world knows everything. And you were stupid if you really thought we weren’t going to find out about it.”

  I stood up.

  “Where do you think you’re going?”

  “I don’t need to answer these questions. I’m a good actress, and that is all that matters.”

  She shook her head and laughed. “No, Sloan. That’s not all that matters in this business.”

  “But that’s all that should matter,” I insisted.

  “That’s beside the point. You should know that being famous has only a little bit to do with the movies you’re in. It’s about who you are to the rest of the world.”

  “I had a man show up at my apartment asking me questions, and I felt completely insulted by his lack of care for my personal space. And now here you are doing the same. I thought we were friends?”

  “No, Sloan. We’re not friends. And this is the business. Get over it.”

  “I’m leaving,” I said.

  “Go right ahead. And while you’re at it, find yourself another agent. I’m sorry, but I have to look after my own reputation, too.”

  “Fine by me,” I said and stormed out.

  The driver was waiting for me when I got out. He didn’t say a word to me as he took me home, and when I arrived, I ran inside before anyone could stop me. When I opened the door to my apartment, I almost screamed. Victoria was sitting on my bed.

  “How did you get here? You gave me such a fright.”