Trouble: A Stepbrother Romance Read online

  Whoever was thumping on the door was about to find out what Claire had been up to. I was surprised she went out there naked in a robe. Or maybe she was expecting someone? Who knows, I just knew that I had to get out of her room and try and at least look decent.

  “Claire, you there?” a voice said as she opened the door. The room was dark, and the person might not have seen clearly because Claire was semi-hiding behind the door.

  I recognized that voice. It was Hannah’s. I saw Claire wave her hand and tell her to come in.

  “I tried calling you. Why didn’t you answer?” Hannah asked hysterically as she paced up and down in front of the door.

  Claire never said a word as she walked up to the door and shut it. She turned and put the light on. Her eyes were half open. I put on my shirt as I walked out of the bedroom. I was wondering what all the commotion was about, and foremost, where was Dad? I didn’t get to ask that question because the next thing that came out of Hannah’s mouth was, “Richard’s dead.” She wailed it so loudly that neither Claire nor I had to ask her what she had said.

  I should have known that was the problem. The tone of her voice. The way she was running around the place like a crazy person. Questions like, how long had he been sick?

  Or was it the cancer that killed him or something else?

  These are the things that I should have said.

  Asked.

  Because, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I started to shake at my new reality.

  Wanting more details of this death, wouldn’t bring him back. Besides, I couldn’t be bothered. It made no difference. The old man was no longer around. I walked over to the sofa, unable to speak. Unable to think with only guilt in my mind.

  I never even went to see him when I came out of the slammer.

  If he wasn’t dying, would he have asked Claire to help me out?

  None of the questions drilling into my mind seemed relevant. My heart ached at the idea of never seeing him again. Never hearing his voice.

  Claire was comforting her mom. Hugging her, whispering, saying, “It’s alright.” As Hannah continued to cry, Claire’s eyes darted and met mine, and she whispered over and over again, “It’s alright.”

  This time, I cried. I didn’t care who saw me cry.

  My old man was gone.

  I didn’t even get a chance to make him proud.

  I didn’t even go and see him as soon as I got out.

  It made me fucking mad.

  But most of all, it made me sad.

  Epilogue

  Rogue

  A few weeks after Dad’s death, I didn’t hesitate in enrolling in a community college. Claire supported me all the way. I wanted to continue his legacy and make him proud. Most of all, I wanted to pick up where Claire and I had left off.

  She felt the same way too.

  The whole thing was kind of crazy.

  The one person I had ignored for so long turned out to be the one woman that was right for me all along. I wondered if Dad knew it and if that was the real reason he’d asked Claire to look out for me.

  I did always think that he had some kind of sixth sense. Hannah offered to let me move into the house with her; maybe she did it so that she could feel close to Dad. Claire and I came up with the excuse that her place was on my release form.

  But, seeing as we couldn’t keep our hands off each other, it wasn’t long before she figured out that there was more to the decision than we had told her.

  We confessed how we felt about each other, expecting her to tell us that it was wrong. I thought that she would tell Claire to run a mile.

  Instead, it was the complete opposite.

  “That’s why my daughter has finally seen sense and decided to work in the public office. She’s found love.” Hannah voiced her approval about our relationship. She completely surprised me. I wasn’t expecting her to take the news so well.

  Claire did lighten up.

  Shit, she even wore sneakers outside of the apartment. Something I had never seen her do before and never thought that she was capable of doing.

  The first day of my new job was coming up. I was so fucking scared. I was going to be a fucking high school coach—the kids were going to eat me up. Dad became a coach when he couldn’t play professionally, and after spending some time volunteering with the kids, I knew it was what I wanted to do too.

  Kathleen tried calling a couple of times. Then, after the news of my dad got out, she stopped trying.

  “You coming here, big boy, or are you going to make me wait all weekend?” Claire yelled from the bedroom.

  I’d promised to make her breakfast in bed. Something that I had been doing on Saturday mornings. The only difference was, this one was very special.

  Sure, it was her favorite—pancakes, cream, and strawberries. But this time I put something on top of the strawberries, and I was fucking nervous about what she was going to say.

  Shit, I moved back and forth like a woodpecker against a tree, changing my mind every second. One day I felt like this was the best step. The next I worried that there was no way in hell she would ever have me for life.

  The old me, the old Rogue, didn’t have a chance in hell.

  The new one.

  The soon-to-be football coach.

  Should.

  The problem was, we’d never talked about the future. I’d just moved in, and stayed. She helped me through college, and the coffee shop that I used to think was boring to work in as a kid became my main source of income while I was at college and even until now. Until I was ready to start my real job.

  “Rogue?” Claire shouted out once again.

  “You can do this,” I whispered to myself.

  “Rogue?” she yelled out again. This time she was on the move.

  “Go back to bed. I told you, I’m coming.” I held my breath, waiting for a response.

  She shouted back, “I thought I heard voices.” She did alright, it was me, myself, and I.

  What if I asked her and she said no? Then what? Did I move out? Did we continue the way we were?

  Shit, when did I become such a wuss? I thought as I picked up the tray and headed to the bedroom with my hands fucking shaking.

  If she said no, I’d just have to deal with it.

  “About time,” she said as I walked into the room. She opened her legs and said, “We were getting very hungry.” Then she laughed. Normally, I would have laughed too, but there was nothing normal about today.

  I was so fucking uncomfortable. I could hear my heart beating out of control. I gently put the tray in front of her, but she wasn’t looking at the tray.

  She started to cry. “I was going to tell you. Honestly. I just didn’t know how you would take it. I mean, we never talked about the future and you just got your new job. Sorry,” she whimpered.

  It was only then that I realized what she was talking about. I thought when she’d said, “we” she’d meant more sex. But she didn’t. She’d meant her and our baby.

  Holy shit!

  The romantic gesture that I had planned jumped out of the window as I shouted, “Look!” pointing to the top of the pancake tower with the strawberries and cream on top.

  She screamed, “You knew?”

  “I didn’t.” Because I honesty didn’t have a clue.

  I didn’t even get to ask. She jumped up on the bed and hugged me like crazy, saying, “I do.”

  So many tears of joy. I should have asked her to marry me. But even with the bed messed up with pancakes, juice, cream, and strawberries, the only thing I needed to do was hold my future wife and squeeze her tight. She had given me so much joy in my life, and knowing that within the next few months she was going to give me even more, made me feel like the happiest man alive.

  ###The End###

  About Stephanie Brother

  Stephanie Brother writes scintillating stories with step-siblings as their main romantic focus. She's always been curious about the forbidden, and this is her way of explo
ring such complex relationships that threaten to keep her couples apart. As she writes her way to her dream job, Ms. Brother hopes that her readers will enjoy the full emotional and romantic experience as much as she's enjoyed writing them.

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