Free Claiming Chase: (A Second Chance Stepbrother Romance) by Charlotte Eve Page A

gonna miss your cousins, sweetheart,” my mom said, that evening after dinner, “but you’re not going to be left alone with your dad and Cassie. Don’t forget that Cassie’s son is about the same age as you, and he’ll be there too. So you’ll have someone to hang out with.”
    Of course. I’d heard about Cassie’s son. But I’d never met him. He was supposed to be there that first weekend I’d come to stay, but in the end he’d never shown up.
    And I was hoping he was going to do the same disappearing act at the beach house, too. I’d heard he was bad news. I don’t know what Dad had told Mom, but from what I’d gathered, he’d been kicked out of more than one school, and was getting into all kinds of trouble with the police.
    I thought about using this to my advantage. Surely there was no way that Mom was gonna pack me off to spend the summer with an out of control teenage boy. Maybe I could tell her what I knew about him, and maybe embellish the facts a little too, for good measure?
    But even though I hadn’t been consulted, I knew that they were right. I wanted to spend more time with Dad. I missed him. And if it meant that I had to put up with Cassie and her tear away son, too, then so be it.
     
    §
     
    “Charity, my little angel! It’s so good to see you!” said my dad as he swept me up in his arms in a great big hug, giving me a spin for good measure.
    “And you too, Daddy,” I replied, planting a kiss on his cheek. “Where’s Cassie?”
    “She’s back at the beach house,” he replied. “It is happy hour after all,” he added with a laugh. “Now, give me your suitcase and we’ll get out of here. You’ve had a long flight.”
    As we walked out to the car, he began to fill me in on the changes he’d made to the beach house since my last visit.
    It was early evening, and the air was finally beginning to cool, although it was obvious that it had been a scorching hot day.
    “I hope you didn’t pack too many sweaters, sweetie,” he said. “Because you’re sure not gonna need them. It’s been hotter than hell all weekend, and apparently it’s only gonna get worse.”
    “I guess I won’t be needing that ski suit I packed after all,” I laughed. 
    Back at the house, he really wasn’t joking about it being happy hour. It was only 9 pm, but Cassie was already pretty wasted.
    “Look who it isn’t!” she cooed, stumbling towards me on her heels as we stepped through the door. “My beautiful stepdaughter!”
    She gave me a theatrical hug, half-choking me in her clouds of perfume. And dressed as she was in just her bikini top and a tiny pair of denim cut-offs, it felt weird hugging her, like she was practically naked.
    As soon as my dad left the room to take my bags upstairs, she offered me a sip of her frozen margarita. “I won’t tell your dad,” she said in a conspiratorial whisper.
    I faked a smile and shook my head.
    I guessed I was just gonna have to quietly put up with her trying to be my best friend for the next eight weeks.
    “Actually, Cassie, I’m beat,” I said. “I’ve had a long journey. I think I’m just gonna head up to my room and lie down.”
     
    §
     
    By ten o’ clock the next morning, the heat was already unbearable. Cassie was still in bed, sleeping off her hangover, and Dad was at work in the tiny makeshift office he’d set up in the attic.
    He worked as an architect, which meant that even though he was spending the whole summer here, he was still at work.
    That first morning, I brought him coffee, but he made it clear that the most useful thing I could do was get out of his hair.
    So much for spending ‘quality time’ with my dad.
    I spent the next few hours exploring the little town, which didn’t take long. The small stretch of sandy beach was crowded, and it was just too hot for me, anyway. I’d never really been a fan of sunbathing. I walked to the store, and bought a popsicle, then headed slowly home, the sun beating down on me.
    Back at