Connor: A Cowboy Stepbrother Romance Novel (7 page)

“Well, I’d kiss you right now if your mom wasn’t coming out of the house,” he whispered. “But I’ll give you a good kiss when you come back out. I’m looking forward to it.”

“So am I,” I responded.

I then opened up the door of his truck, finding a piece of paper and a pen. I quickly scribbled down my phone number.

“Here’s my number,” I said, as I handed him the piece of paper. “Text me. I’ll let you know when I’m able to make it back out. But it will be some time next week for sure.”

Connor put the paper in the front pocket of his jeans.

“Sounds great,” he said. “I’ll talk to you soon, gorgeous.”

I smiled and then turned around, making my way back to the car to meet my mom.

“You ready, honey?” she asked, as I approached her.

“Yep, all ready,” I responded.

I jumped into the passenger seat and Mom got behind the wheel. She started up the engine and pulled away from the house. I looked in the side mirror, watching the farm disappear into the distance as we drove away. A sudden sadness came over me and I found myself wishing that I could just stay there.

We drove in silence for a half an hour or so and then Mom finally spoke up.

“It seems like you and Connor are getting along nicely,” she said. “That’s really great to see. It seems like he’ll be a good addition to our family. I think it’s nice that you’re going to have an older sibling.”

I shivered when she said the word “sibling”. I mean I had just made out with Connor the night before and grinded my pussy against the bulge of his cock. I didn’t really want to associate that with the word “sibling”.

“Yeah, he’s a nice guy,” I responded. “I’m learning a lot about him.”

My mom looked over at me, her smile suddenly fading.

“But you know, William and I talked a lot over the past couple of days and he told me some things about Connor that I didn’t know. I promised Richard that I wouldn’t say anything, but some of the things that he told me are rather...interesting. So I’m going to tell you. Brace yourself, though, Emily. There’s a lot more to Connor than you think. He has a very eventful and secretive history. Just promise me that nothing I tell you leaves this car, Emily.”

My lips parted and I felt a burst of adrenaline flow into my veins as I anticipated what she was going to tell me about Connor.

“I promise, Mom,” I said. “I won’t say a word...”

––––––––

A
fter just a few hours of sleep, I woke up in my bed and slowly sat up. It was still dark outside and the morning sun wasn’t even close to coming up. The only light in the room emanated from the clock radio on the nightstand, which put off a reddish glow that covered the walls. I glanced over at it and sighed.

“It’s 3 am...” I whispered. “I shouldn’t be awake right now.”

I kicked the covers off and then got up, making my way over to the dresser where my cell phone had been charging. I picked it up and unlocked the screen, scanning down to Connor’s phone number.

Should I call him? Just to see if what my mom said about him was true?

Anxiety built at the thought of actually confronting him about it. My thumb hovered over the “call” button and I almost pressed it. But then I immediately reconsidered.

“No,” I muttered. “I can’t. I promised Mom that I wouldn’t say anything.”

It was difficult, but after a moment, I set the phone back on the dresser and walked over to the bed. I sat on the edge of the mattress and placed my hands on my knees, taking a deep breath.

My mom and I had just gotten home from Richard and Connor’s farm the previous evening. And on the drive home, my mother had decided to tell me something about Connor, my new stepbrother, which had me dizzy with anxiety.

“It can’t be true,” I whispered, as I stared across my dark bedroom, my focus landing on the opposite wall. “Connor isn’t a bad guy. He can’t be...”

I couldn’t get it out of my mind, though. It was the reason that I couldn’t sleep. The Connor that I had gotten to know while on the farm wasn’t the man I thought that he was, at least according to my mother.

She had told me that Richard, Connor’s father, had showed her some very sensitive information about his son. Apparently, when Connor was living in Boston, back before he joined the rodeo, he had been involved in various amounts of illegal activity.

When my mom had first told me about this, I immediately assumed it was something petty. Like maybe he had some unpaid traffic tickets or had gotten in trouble with drinking and driving. But it turned out that it wasn’t that simple.

On the drive home, my mother had told me something that would change my perception on Connor forever. She told me that the reason he joined the rodeo tour and moved back to Iowa, wasn’t just because he wanted to be back home with his father. He was running from the law. He was part of a crime syndicate, which specialized in bank robbing.

When she had first uttered the words, I found myself laughing. I thought for sure that she must have been joking. There was no way. I mean really? Connor, the sweet and sensitive cowboy who was about to become my stepbrother used to rob banks for a living? Yeah, right! A cowboy turned outlaw?!

However, given Mother’s tone and stern gaze, it became pretty clear that she wasn’t joking about it. She said that Richard had told her everything. Connor had apparently left home when he was young and moved to Boston because he had a friend living there. The next thing Connor knew, he was deeply involved in an underground network of criminal activity.

My immediate reaction was one of disbelief, which then slowly turned to shock. I asked my mom if he had ever been to jail and she slowly nodded her head.

“Yes, honey,” she had said. “He has. Richard didn’t tell me how much time he’s, but apparently it was enough to make him reconsider his choices.”

But even after hearing the evidence, a part of me still couldn’t fully believe it. Connor was too sweet to do something like that. He was a giant teddy bear...or was he? My thoughts flashed back to the night in the bar when he had gotten into that biker’s face, threatening to kill him.

Maybe he’s a lot tougher than I’ve given him credit for,
I thought.

And as I sat there on the edge of my bed, I began to feel almost nauseous as I thought about it. I was really starting to like Connor. I mean a lot. He was everything that I could have ever wanted in a man. And now, suddenly, there was a whole other side to him that I knew nothing about.

I didn’t want my perception of Connor to be tarnished with his history, though. I wanted him to stay perfect in my mind, unflawed and amazing, just like the time that he and I had spent together on the farm. I wanted the Connor that had protected me at the bar and who had kissed me and almost made love with me in the back of his truck. I didn’t want the bank-robbing bad boy who had a dark, vague history...or did I?

I don’t even know what I want any more. What in the hell am I supposed to do?

Not only had I been slowly falling in love with the guy, but he was also going to be my stepbrother soon. So even if I were able to somehow stop my feelings for him, I still wouldn’t be able to get him out of my life. We were family. And whether I liked it or not, Connor, the so-called criminal, was going to be a part of it.

It would have been so nice to be able to call Connor and confront him, but I couldn’t. I knew that if I did, then my mom would get in trouble with Richard for telling me the secrets, which he’d told her in confidence. So I had to sit there and accept it for what it was: a giant secret that would weigh on my shoulders forever. Or at least until I could somehow get to the bottom of it on my own and find out for sure whether or not any of it was actually true. I just had to figure out a way.

––––––––

A
fter tossing and turning in bed for the rest of the night, I finally opened my eyes to see the morning sun. It looked like it was going to be a beautiful day. The sun was shining, the sky was blue and there even seemed to be less smog in the air. Which was surprising, since we lived in the middle of Detroit. 

I slowly got up from my bed and walked over to the dresser. I immediately picked up my cell phone and unlocked the screen, noticing a text from Connor. A burst of anxiety filled me as I opened the text.

It read, “
Good morning, beautiful! I’m so glad I got to spend time with you while you were here on the farm. I really hope you’re able to come out and see me this week.”

A smirk crossed my face as I read the message. As if I wasn’t already confused enough about Connor, he had to go and text me a sweet message like that. He wasn’t making the situation any easier.

I can’t let the stories of his past bother me like this. But I also can’t let it go. I need to find out the truth about Connor. It’s the only way I’ll be able to rest.

Below me, I could hear the sound of my mother in the kitchen, humming to herself as she went through her usual morning routine. She was happier than I had seen her in a long time and I needed to protect that. I couldn’t let my secret relationship with Connor screw up anything between Richard and my mom.

I held my cell phone in my hand, re-reading the text from Connor. I found myself smiling, feeling the butterflies begin to flutter inside of me. There was no denying that I had a crush on him.

“The stories can’t be true,” I whispered firmly. “There’s no way. No bank robber or ex-con or whatever he is, could ever be this sweet.”

I quickly responded to his text with, “
Hi! I’m glad I got to spend time with you, too! And yes, I’m going to still try to make it out to the farm this week, assuming everything goes as planned.”

I knew that the only way I’d be able to know for sure was if I could get Connor to admit to it himself. And the only way that was going to happen was if I visited the farm alone, without my mother or Richard there.

After sending the text, I set the phone back on the dresser and stepped out of the bedroom. Still in my pajamas, I made my way downstairs. When I turned into the kitchen, I saw my mom standing in front of the stove. She was cooking eggs and singing quietly to herself.

“Good morning,” I said, as I approached her.

She turned around and her smile grew.

“Well, good morning,” she responded. “How was your night?”

After letting out a soft yawn, I walked over to the small table that was located at the end of the kitchen. As I sat down, I said, “Honestly, not that great. I didn’t sleep well at all.”

My mom placed a hand on her hip and I watched her smile slowly fade.

“That wouldn’t have anything to do with Connor, would it?” she asked.

“Oh, no,” I said. “It has nothing to do with what you told me, Mom. In fact, I hadn’t even thought about that since we got home. I guess I had gotten so used to the quiet of the farm that I had forgotten how difficult it is to sleep in the middle of the city.”

My mom’s smile returned to her face.

“Well, as long as that’s the only reason you couldn’t sleep,” she said. “A part of me wishes that I hadn’t told you about Connor’s history, you know? I had promised Richard that I wouldn’t. I just hope that it doesn’t put a damper on your friendship with your soon-to-be stepbrother...”

As she finished speaking, she turned back to stir the eggs.

“No, of course not, Mom,” I assured. “I’m sure that whatever he did in Boston is behind him. The past is the past, right? And besides, everyone has made mistakes.”

Mom pulled the frying pan off of the stove and then dispersed the eggs on two different plates. She then set one of the plates one the table in front of me.

“Yes, honey, everyone has made mistakes,” she noted. “And I don’t think either of us can judge him for what he has done. I just wanted you to know about it, because I think that sometimes our history is an important part of who we are. And since Connor is about to be part of the family, I thought it would only be fair if you not only knew who he
is
, but also knew who he
was.”

She was right. But I wasn’t going to just take the stories of his past at face value. I needed to find out on my own and I had every intention of doing so.

––––––––

C
onnor and I continued texting back and forth for the rest of that day and into the evening. Even so, I avoided bringing up anything that I had found out about his past. I just acted like everything was fine.

And later that night, I got a text from him that confirmed my plans for the week. It read:
“Guess what? My dad is leaving tomorrow morning to come visit your mom. Does that mean you’ll come up and see me?”

My eyes widened as I read the text. It was the exact thing that I had been hoping for. Richard was coming to our home in Detroit, which meant that I’d have Connor all to myself on the farm.

I responded to his text with:
“That’s perfect! I’ll tell my mom that I’m spending a couple of days at a girlfriend’s house! I’m sure she’ll encourage it anyway. I imagine she’d like some private time with your dad.”

As I sent the text, I felt a burst of nervousness fill my stomach. I was so excited to see Connor again, for a number of reasons. I really did like him and the crush that I had on him was no joke. On top of that, though, I was looking forward to the chance to find out more about his past.

So with a renewed sense of energy, I hopped up from my bed and grabbed my backpack, throwing a few days worth of clothes inside. Then I walked to the door and poked my head out into the hallway. My mom’s light was on in her bedroom, so I stepped out and made my way toward it.

“Mom?” I called out.

I walked into her room and turned toward the bed. She was leaning against the headboard with her laptop on her lap. Richard’s face was on the screen and they were talking to each other over video chat. My mom looked over as soon as she saw me.

“Oh, hey, honey!” she said. “I was just talking to Richard.”

My mom turned the laptop toward me so that I could see Richard’s face. I waived at the camera.