Stranded with My Stepbrother Chapter 106

McKenzie

Even though it was night, I still looked out the window often to see what there was to see in the moonlight. As we neared Iowa and went into the state itself, all there was to see were farms on flat land.

Lots of farms. Lots of flat land.

“Scenery’s not going to change,” Will said after a while. “You can take a nap, if you want. It looks like we’re driving straight to Des Moines. That’s going to take hours.”

“I don’t need a nap. I don’t think I could take one even if I wanted to,” I admitted. “Today’s been…”

“Insane,” he finished for me.

“Insane,” I echoed. “That’s the understatement of the century. Jake died. We’re being chased by your grandfather’s people—”

“We think,” he interrupted.

I turned and stared at him. “We think? What do you mean, ‘we think’?”

“My grandfather wasn’t the only person looking for your parents. They’re poised to testify against a sheik, if Interpol ever finds him, and also I think something called the Trinary. A group of assassins, as far as I can tell. They were hunting your parents for the ransom,” he said.

“Ransom?” I repeated. “What ransom?”

“I’m not sure if it’s being offered anymore or not, honestly. My grandfather went to prison, and the sheik is on the run, so, whatever capturing your parents was going to do has gone to pot.” He sighed. “I wish I understood more of what’s going on, but I barely got out of the office as it was.”

I frowned at him. “How did you, of all people, find my parents when this sheik and your grandfather couldn’t?”

Will glanced at me, then swallowed. “My grandfather had the information already. Or, rather, he had the name of the police officer who was helping your parents—Jake. I just took that information, gave it to a private investigator, and he must have followed Jake to your Uncle Billy’s farm. Or something. I’m not sure why my grandfather didn’t do that himself years ago. Maybe he thought he had enough information to find them if he wanted to.”

“So, my parents were never really safe,” I murmured.

“No. I don’t think they were. I’m surprised they managed to stay out of my grandfather’s crosshairs for thirty years. It’s not like Grandfather to leave loose ends,” he said.

“How long is your grandfather in for?” I asked.

“He gets out at the end of this year. He would have been out five years ago, but apparently, they caught him doing something.” He shrugged. “I have no idea what. You’d think if they’d caught him doing the human trafficking, they would have tacked on another twenty-five years.”

I looked down at the map, my eyes swimming with angry tears. “Your grandfather’s a real do-it-yourself-er, isn’t he?”

“Yes. How did you know?” he asked.

“I think your grandfather’s known exactly where my parents are for the last thirty years. But I think he was planning on punishing them as soon as he got out,” I said. “Himself.”

Will stared out at the road. “I think you’re right.”

“You only moved the timeline forward. This was always going to happen,” I whispered. “Hell, I’ll bet you saved my parents’ lives. I just wish Uncle Billy, Uncle Horace, and Uncle Jake had run, too.”

“I still feel like it’s my fault they’re dead,” he said quietly. He slammed his palm on the steering wheel. “Damn it!”

I put my hand on his thigh, and some of the tension left him, though a muscle still twitched along his jawline. “I mean it. You saved my parents. You probably saved me. I’ll bet your grandfather would have had a great time dangling me over my parents’ heads.”

“He would have,” he agreed. “I guess I screwed up his plans in more ways than one.”

“What do you mean by that?” I asked.

“He ultimately wanted me to take over the family business, I think. All of the family businesses. I guess he thought my moral compass would point more in his direction if he raised me right. Joke’s on him. I turned out more like my father, or so I’m told,” he said.

“Your father must be a good man.” I frowned as his expression turned sad.

“I think he was. I never met him. My grandfather drove him to kill himself, which I also found out recently,” he whispered.

Oh God. I patted his thigh sympathetically. “I’m sorry.”

“Me, too.”

We both stared out at the road for at least an hour. I didn’t take my hand off his thigh. I wanted him to know I was there for him, as he seemed wrapped up in some pretty dark thoughts.

“Want a beef jerky?” he finally asked, breaking the silence so abruptly that it made me jump.

“Please don’t tell me that’s some kind of innuendo,” I said.

Will laughed, and the tension eased. “No. I really mean beef jerky. I think if you did anything about ‘innuendo’ right now, I’d drive off the road.”

“I’m holding out for that steak dinner,” I teased. “I don’t want you to think I’m easy.”

He laughed harder. “Right. Because I am completely convinced I could buy you with just a steak dinner.”

I stopped as I was reaching into the back seat for the food. “Hey now. Don’t think I can be bought at any price.”

“Not even a diamond tennis bracelet?” he asked.

I knew he was kidding, but some small part of me was still offended. “Will, I know you come from a different world than I do. But in my world, I’m not interested in your money. I’m interested in you.”

He looked over at me with the most heartbreaking expression I’d ever seen. Something like longing, sadness, and desperation all rolled into one. “You really mean that?”

I smacked his arm. “Of course I do, idiot! Jeez, what kind of people do you hang out with?”

“Not very good ones, as it turns out,” he muttered.

It occurred to me that he was probably more often evaluated by his wallet than by his character by other women who traveled in his circle. The thought depressed me on his behalf. “Beef jerky?” I asked, unwrapping one and holding it out to him.

Will took it and gnawed on it, his face unreadable. “You know I’m thirty, and you’re nineteen, right?”

“Right,” I replied. “Age is just a number. And guys my age? They have the maturity of a tadpole. I think they only think about their tadpoles.”

He chuckled. “As a man, I can tell you it doesn’t get that much better as we age. We just hide it better.”

“Liar,” I said.

“No, trust me. I’ve been thinking about my tadpoles since the moment I met you,” he responded.

“Not the whole time, though,” I corrected him.

Will glanced over at me again. “It’s at least been on the back burner.”

“I mean, I could say the same thing. Like I said, you’re hot.” I didn’t mind telling him this. I’d told him before, and we were thrown together in this situation, anyway. It wasn’t as though I had a girlfriend to gush to. Or my mother. Besides, he and I might as well be honest with each other. We might be together… God only knew how long.

“You are not doing anything to stop me thinking about tadpoles,” he chuckled.

I shrugged. “I figure it’s better to be straightforward. Who knows how long it’ll be until we get to have that steak dinner?”

“You’re saying you think we’re going to sleep together before I even get to treat you to a steak dinner?” He blinked.

“I don’t know. We don’t know how this is going to go. But I do think we’re going to be seeing a lot of each other for a while, and I just wanted you to know I was open to the idea,” I said.

He let out a long breath. “I never thought having such a frank conversation was going to leave me in need of a cold shower.”

I grinned. “I guess it is kind of hot in here now.”

Will groaned and picked up my Dr. Pepper, shaking it gently in my face. “You need to drink this and not talk for a bit. I am this close to begging you for things we shouldn’t be doing in a moving vehicle. And I haven’t even kissed you yet.”

“You like to do things in their proper order. I get it.” I felt bold taking the Dr. Pepper and swigging it. In truth, I was pretty inexperienced with guys. A very disappointing high school sweetheart experience was the only notch I had on my bedpost.

He took his Dr. Pepper and drank it as well.

We fell into a companionable silence. Then Des Moines loomed in front of us.

“Does it say where in the city we’re supposed to go?” he asked.

I looked back down at the map. “The line passes through and goes a little west. We have to turn right on Highway Six. We’re going somewhere called Adel.”

“And after that?” he prodded. “Is there a hotel or house or address or something?”

I flipped the map back and forth. “Umm…” Then I saw the list of cities. Next to Adel was an address in red pen. “Yes.” I rattled it off to him.

“We’ll have to ask at a gas station or something where that address is. They’re going to look at us like we’re nuts for not having a phone or some kind of navigation,” he sighed. “Oh well. Can’t be helped.”

Highway 6 came into sight, and I pointed. “Right here.”

Will nodded and took a right. Soon, we were back out in farm country.

“Sign says we should be in Adel in about twenty-five miles,” he said after a few minutes.

“So, twenty-five-ish minutes,” I interpreted.

“We are definitely from Minnesota.” He shook his head. “We’re going to have to work on that.”

“Oh. Yeah, true. I guess we don’t usually talk about things in terms of miles,” I conceded.

“It’s Minnesota. Miles isn’t going to tell you anything. Have you ever been on 494 during rush hour?” he asked.

I shuddered. “God, don’t remind me.”

“Exactly.”

We continued into the cute, historic Adel. Will found a gas station, and we stopped at a pump. “Might as well get more gas. This thing gets great gas mileage, I’ve got to say.”

“It’s a Toyota,” I said. “Should we get more Dr. Pepper, too?”

“Is that really a question?” he grinned.

“No, not really,” I smiled back.

We walked into the gas station, pulling our baseball caps low on our foreheads. “Hi,” I said, going right to the counter. “We’d like to buy gas. Also, we’re a little lost. Do you know where this address is?” I pointed to the address scribbled on the map.

Will laid down a hundred, then two, then three, all the way up to a thousand dollars. “And we’d like you to forget we were here.”

“You got it,” the cashier said. He took out his phone and brought up the address. “That’s a vacation rental, I think. It’s listed on Vrbo, anyway. But here’s the directions.” He pulled them up and showed them to Will.

Will looked them over and nodded. “Okay. Thank you very much.” He laid down another hundred. “That’s for the gas. Keep the change. Oh, and two Dr. Peppers.”

“Knock yourself out, friend,” the cashier replied, pocketing the money. “You can rob the store now for all I care.”

“Maybe on our next vacation,” he said with a slight smile.

We grabbed our Dr. Peppers, fueled up the Camry, and headed for the vacation home.

“If we get there, and it’s full of your grandfather’s people, I am going to be super pissed off,” I told him.

“If we get there and it’s full of my grandfather’s people, we’re making a run for it,” he responded. “Because I’m not letting him get his hands on you.”

“What if we get trapped?” I asked.

He rested a hand on my shoulder. “If we get trapped, then I will do everything in my power to get you out.”

I took his hand and squeezed it. “Just so you know, despite everything, it’s been really nice getting to know you, Will Masterson III.”

“Likewise, McKenzie Kent,” he replied softly.