Cocky: A Cowboy Stepbrother Romance by Kaylee Kazarian Read Free Book Online Page B

That was what this was about. Jay wasn’t the type to hold a grudge. Oh no, he was the type of guy who liked to get even. And this was going to be his way of getting even. Getting me out in the dirt and the mud, making me sweat and break my back just to prove a point. I wasn’t the only one with power around here.
     
    I knew that if I argued or tried to get out of it, I would be at the mercy of Caroline’s ire. And that was the last thing I wanted.
     
    “Sure.”
     
    Caroline waved me off, grinding out the butt of her cigarette against the inside of the screen door. I knew my dad would have a fit if he saw that. She tossed the butt in the trash, making her way through the kitchen. She stopped long enough to pat Jay on the arm in passing, but didn’t so much as spare me another glance.
     
    My stomach was roiling with how angry I was, but I knew I needed to eat. It would be far worse to get out of the far side of the property and have a grumbling, hungry belly than it would be to sit here and let my emotions control my appetite.
     
    “Hurry up and get done eating, girl. We got work to do.” It was like a magic trick, watching the way Jay made food disappear. But I guess it made sense for a guy as muscular as him to need a lot of protein to keep him going through the day.
     
    Jay dropped his plate into the sink, giving it a perfunctory rinse before he turned back to face me, lips twisted up into a smug smirk. He leaned across the counter until he was only inches from me, until I was the only one who could possibly hear his words.
     
    “Because I got plans for you today, Callie. Big plans.” He slapped a hand down against the counter, and it startled me badly enough that I flinched, my fork dropping to clatter loudly against my plate. Jay just laughed, moving away from the counter and back through the kitchen so that he could swing open the back door and step out into the morning sun.
     
    I could feel fear and excitement fighting for dominance in my heart. A whole day out on the far outskirts of the farm, where no one would be near us. No one could hear us. Oh, what kind of trouble had I gotten myself into?
     
    I lingered over my breakfast for as long as I could, but I knew I could only stare down at the crumbs of my toast and the sheen of dried egg on my plate for so long. My nerves were on edge, and it felt like my chest was tight with fear and anticipation.
     
    I stood from the stool, wincing at the way it squealed against the tile floor as I pushed it back into place. The water from the sink was hot enough to elicit another wince, but it gave me something to focus on as I used the little yellow-and-green sponge to wash up both my plate and the cast-iron skillet still in the sink. I was running out of ways to stall.
     
    Almost as if on cue, I heard the revving of an engine outside. I wiped my hands dry on the dish towel hanging from the stove, pushing up onto the tips of my toes so that I could look out the window over the sink.
     
    There was Jay sitting behind the wheel of the UTV. It was a sturdy little vehicle, a cross between a pickup truck and an ATV. They were made for hauling, and in the bed of the vehicle, Jay had thrown a large black duffel bag in there, as well as a couple of yards of rope and what looked like some gloves.
     
    There were no roads that would take us to the edge of the property. At best we would have some narrow, overgrown hunting trails to follow. There was no way we could take the pickup out there. The UTV was practical, it was fast, and for the first time I found myself starting to look forward to this trip of ours.
     
    I’d always enjoyed taking the UTV out when we would go fishing or hunting. There was something freeing about going off road, about taking yourself wherever you wanted to go. There were no roads to be confined to, no pressure and no destination, other than the vague need to check the fence lines. We could start anywhere, and go in any direction we