Stepbrother Master(33)

Somehow my head had come to rest on Ford's shoulder. Just like the night before, he didn't move me. But at the crunch of tires on the dirt road, his body stiffened, and my head dropped.

“What?” I asked, annoyed at losing my pillow. “It's just a truck.”

“They're back.”

Oh, shit. I hadn't learned to read the sounds of the ranch yet. Ford could tell the different trucks apart … or maybe he knew that the hands wouldn't normally pull up so close to the house. I quickly got up from the table.

A few minutes later, three familiar voices floated in, and our parents piled through the front door with Celeste. Apparently, they had picked her up from her cruise on their flight back.

As I hugged Mom and greeted Russ, Ford slipped past them without a word. He returned with the rest of their luggage and started carrying it to their rooms. It was a great excuse to bail, but I wished he hadn't left me without backup. My eyes strayed to his jeans and the way they hugged his ass perfectly as he climbed the stairs. Then again, maybe it's best if we don't stay too close.

“Whew!” Celeste said. “I'll make you guys some lunch, and then I gotta lie down. This jet lag is killing me.”

“We just had breakfast, thanks,” I said.

“You did? At this hour?” Celeste glanced at the clock on the wall.

Mom tutted. “You don't have to make us anything. I can manage until you've had a rest.”

Celeste flapped her hand. “It's just a few sandwiches.”

“Let her do her job, dear.” Russ was bent over, unlacing his boots.

I frowned as Celeste bustled into the kitchen. It would be one thing if she genuinely wanted to feed us. But she made such a big deal out of how run-down she felt, then wouldn't let us help. Like all she wanted was to be seen as a martyr.

Whatever. I turned my attention back to Mom. “How was your trip?”

“The resort was amazing!” she replied. “There was a spa, a five-star restaurant … you could just about live there.”

Ford came back to the foyer as Mom continued, “Russ won't tell me how much anything cost, but it must have been a fortune! The nightly rate, all the dinners and vineyard tours and goodness knows what else.” She gave Russ an affectionate smile. “I guess he doesn't worry about that kind of thing.”

“Neither should you,” Russ replied. “What's mine is yours now, remember?”

Mom chuckled. “I suppose that'll take some getting used to.”

A line appeared on Ford's brow. Wondering what his problem was, I interrupted. “As cool as the resort property sounds, I care more about you guys. Did you have fun?”

“Oh, yes!” Mom said. “Every morning they put a little basket of fresh pastries on your doorstep so you could have breakfast whenever you wanted. It was the cutest thing. During the day we played croquet and tennis, went hiking … and wine tasting, of course. And our cottage had a private deck where we could watch the sunset.”

There she goes, gushing about the amenities again. But I knew how she felt. I was still getting used to how insanely rich the Bennetts were. After living on a fairly strict budget for so long, Mom was blown away by the luxuries Russ could afford without even blinking.

“Or try to watch, anyway,” Russ commented. “Can't hardly see the horizon with so many dang trees. Northern California is beautiful, but I think living on this ranch has made me a Montana man for good.”

“Come on, dear, it's not so bad to get off the prairie. That rainy day was a great excuse to snuggle by the fire,” Mom teased. Russ just laughed and kissed her.

Aaand that's my cue. There was only so much I wanted to hear about the private aspects of their honeymoon. But before I could politely excuse myself, Mom turned back to us. “And what did you kids do all week? I hope you kept yourselves entertained.”

My stomach dropped into my sandals. Ford and I had entertained ourselves, all right … in the hot tub, his bedroom, the back woods, the horse barn, and practically every room of the house. “We, uh, didn't do much,” I stuttered. My face felt warm. Was I blushing? Could they see it? Say something, dammit!

Ford interrupted, his voice perfectly smooth. “Sure we did. I took Emma horseback riding along some of the ranch's main trails. The cow ponies loved her. For someone who'd never ridden before, she's pretty good at it.”

Don't laugh, I repeated to myself.

“Well, is that so?” Russ said. “We ought to go out sometime as a family, now that Ford's shown you the ropes.”

Don't. Fucking. Laugh.

Ford actually cracked a smile. “I whipped her into shape with some vigorous exercise. We also took the ATVs to the forest overlook for a picnic.” Right, that picnic. With its basket full of very special goodies. Suddenly Ford cocked an eyebrow at me. “We had ourselves a race, didn't we?”