Free Bend (A Stepbrother Romance) by Ellen Callahan Page B

their con was. This wasn’t going to stand. The public embarrassment was nothing. Meaningless. But she’d made me feel shit for her.
    And now I felt like an idiot.
     
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    My father’s estate was a Spanish-style structure surrounded by gardens—lavish enough to impress the hell out of the likes of Cadence, I was sure. I was less enthused. It wasn’t my childhood home, and really, it lacked any personality or warmth at all.
    Which was why I didn’t bother driving out to stay there when I was in my home city. It was easier to just get a hotel room.
    There was a strange, ugly old car sitting in the driveway when I pulled up—probably his new wife’s. It definitely wasn’t his. I was surprised he let the thing sit out front at all, where anyone could see it. Maybe she just got here .
    I let myself in and called out from the foyer, “Dad?” My voice echoed around the high-ceilinged space. Would it kill him to put a rug down somewhere? “Hello?”
    I wandered through the quiet house. There was some evidence of life—a jacket over a chair at the kitchen table, a purse, a pair of shoes. I ignored the sinking feeling in my gut. Another woman moving in on his life. Our life. Can’t wait to see what sort of damage this one does.
    The sound of feminine laughter reached my ears, coming from the back. I drew the blinds aside and spotted my father and his new wife sitting on the lounge chairs by the kidney-shaped pool.
    There they were. My father, a bigger oblivious idiot than even me. And his new woman. She’d leave him destitute if she could, but she’d take whatever settlement his lawyers offered. Again.
    I couldn’t stop the sneer that spread across my face as I stepped outside. “Hey, Dad. Who’s the lottery winner this year?”
    “Keir.” He narrowed his blue eyes. “You’re supposed to be in Vegas.”
    “Supposed to be, but I’m not. I guess you aren’t managing me very well.” I approached the woman. “Keir Sonder,” I said, extending my hand.
    “Oh,” she tittered, evidently taking my lottery comment as a joke, “I’m Victoria.”
    She had the same eyes as Cadence. Same color, at least, all greens and golds. But they held a different light. Or rather, no light at all. They were vacant.
    Or maybe that was the Botox.
    Or… I sniffed the air. “Are you two getting high out here?”
    “Excuse us, Victoria,” my father said, rising from his chair. “I need to speak to my son in private for a moment.”
    I followed him inside, rolling my eyes behind his back and feeling like an unruly teenager about to get an infuriatingly patient lecture. Some things never change .
    He turned to speak as soon as the door was shut but I cut him off, first. “I don’t know what kind of crazy fucking scheme these women are running, but you’ve got to get the hell out of this. Did you see those headlines? How many of these gold-diggers are you going to keep paying off? It would make more sense to just hire a fucking hooker to move in.”
    He cleared his throat and nodded to his right.
    And there was Cadence, standing in the hallway in a bathing suit, clutching a towel to her chest.
    I dropped my gaze. I should not have felt bad. The girl had conned her way backstage, flirted her way into my bed, and was now my stepsister through some grand scheme of hers and her mother’s. She’d made me look like a giant fucking idiot and who knew what heinous plans they had for my father.
    It was all well and good to remind myself of these things, but it did nothing to make me feel any less guilty.
    “Cadence,” Dad said gently, “I apologize for my son’s deplorable behavior. He never did learn any proper manners, as I’m sure you can tell just by looking at him.” She nodded, the shocked and hurt expression still frozen on her face. “Go on outside. We’ll be right behind you.”
    She jumped as if bitten and fled the room, ducking her head and avoiding looking at me at all. I couldn’t help