Page 14 of Stepbrothered by the Mountain Man

I sigh, sitting up to lean on the desk. “It’s just so complicated. Dad’s finally happy.”

“And you don’t deserve to be happy? Nothing and no one could keep me away from the woman I love.”

He lets me sit with my thoughts for a long moment.

“What if it’s all one-sided? I’m twelve years older than her. She trusts me. She sees me as her family—”

“If by family you mean husband, sure,” Beau says. “Don’t you notice the way she hugs you for ten seconds longer than everyone else? The way she wraps her arms around your neck every time, but with Grant and me it’s a side hug or fist bump? Unless we wrangle her into a bear hug.”

Really?

“Then there’s the way she stares at you.”

“How?” I ask, my heart already soaring with hope.

“Like you’re the sun and stars and heavens above,” Beau says dreamily, clutching his hands together.

Did she? I rack my brain, trying to think back. Maya was always so gorgeous, her smile always so radiant. Is that why I never noticed a difference when she looked at me?

I think of all the times I’ve pulled her onto my lap, of all the times she straddled me and kissed my cheek or forehead. Had I ever seen her do that with Grant or Beau?

No.

“So you don’t think she sees me as a big brother?”

“No one looks at their brother that way. I would know. I have two,” Beau says with an eye roll. “Look, the ball’s in your court, Levi, with Maya and with the property, but I need an answer on the latter. If you don’t want it, I’ll sell it to the client. If you hadn’t clued me in on the terms of Maya’s contract, I would’ve accepted it blindly and that’s not in her best interest. She’ll understand.”

“Eventually...”

“So?” Beau raises his eyebrows. “What’s it going to be?”

“Where do I sign?”

***

It’s a little past six when Dad and Kat arrive.

Beau left earlier to pick up some grocery supplies from the wholesale warehouse near the base of the mountain, but I’m sure it’s just an excuse to avoid Maya who’s avoiding me. I’ve only seen glimpses of her since my talk with Beau and every time we make eye contact she rushes off or busies herself with guests or Emmy and Everly.

“Levi!” Kat’s voice rings through the lobby as I emerge from the dining hall. I’d just pushed some tables together to accommodate us all for dinner.

Kat’s arms are outstretched as she approaches me and I rush over to swoop her into a hug. I loved her hugs. I hadn’t seen Kat in person since two Christmases ago when she and Dad came down to the lodge. The last holiday season they spent back in Baha Bay for their second wedding anniversary. Recently they’d retired there on the beach.

Despite Kat coming into my life when I was already thirty, she still has a motherly effect on me which I’d always craved. I was too young to remember my beautiful mother when she passed, and while Kat could never replace that emptiness entirely, she sure filled it well.

Maya took more after her father, or so I assume, as Kat’s features are sharper, and Maya’s are more doll-like. Still, I can see the resemblance between them when Kat’s bright orangey-brown eyes, the same shade as Maya’s, light up at the sight of her daughter. “My!”

Maya’s smile quickly turns into an annoyed grimace when Kat opens a carob arm to embrace her while keeping the other one curled around me.

I can’t help the smile that cracks my lips as Maya glares up at me from beneath those pretty long lashes, our shoulders rubbing together as Kat, oblivious to our tension, squeezes us tighter.

“I’m so glad you’re here, Mom,” Maya says, stepping back and turning to embrace Dad. “You too, Nick.”

“How was the journey over?” I ask them both, grabbing the handles of their suitcases and pulling them behind the reception desk for now.

“Amazing, you need to come to the Bay sometimes,” Dad says. “Get some sun and civilization away from the mountains for a few days.”

“You look like you’ve been getting enough sun for all of us,” Beau says, coming through the door with a big grin.

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