CHAPTER ONE
Eleanor
* * *
“I didn’t even know that David had a son,” I say as my mother nervously nibbles on her fingernail. We’re driving through the snowy mountains on the way to a ski chalet for the weekend. “How come I never met him before?”
My mother takes a deep breath as she glances in her rearview mirror. “David and Tanner don’t have the best relationship.”
“Why?”
She chews on her bottom lip, not wanting to answer. The tease of some potential juicy gossip makes me want to find out even more!
“You’ve been married for two months and he’s never even mentioned him.”
“He’s mentioned Tanner to me.”
“Well, he hasn’t to me,” I say as I glance out the window at the snow-covered pine trees. The skiing conditions are going to be amazing this weekend. I can’t wait. “You’d think someone would have told me that I had a stepbrother.”
“I told you!”
“Last week!”
She looks at me and then huffs out a frustrated breath as she turns back to the road. “It’s just… Tanner is a handful is all.”
“A handful? What does that mean?”
She takes a deep breath as she clenches and unclenches the steering wheel.
“Mom?”
“He stole a car two summers ago.”
I gasp. “He did?!”
Oh, God. My new stepbrother is a criminal.
I grew up as an only child. My father died when I was three and my mother never really dated until she met David. He was buying a house and he fell in love with the real estate agent, which was my mom.
She sold him the house and then moved us into it six weeks later.
He’s a great guy, but I guess there’s still a lot to learn about him. I didn’t even know he had a son in a different state who lives with his mom. Tanner never came to visit. There’s not even a picture of him hanging on the wall.
My mother turns the radio on. I turn it off.
“What do you mean he stole a car?”
“He stole a car, what do you want me to say?” she says in her frustrated voice. “He went to prison for nine months and he’s out now.”
“He went to prison?!”
“I’m sure it’s going to be fine,” she says as she turns the radio back on. “He did his time. He’s reformed himself. Let’s just see how it goes.”
“See how it goes?” I say, staring at her in disbelief. “We have to share a cottage with a criminal!”
“He’s not a criminal, he’s your stepbrother.”
I stare at the windshield wipers as they wipe away the falling snow.
“Don’t look so depressed!” my mother says. “You always wanted a sibling.”
“Yeah, not one who is going to break into my room and steal my stuff!”
She laughs. “That’s all siblings.”
“You know what I mean.”
There’s a silent tension in the car as we roll down the road.
“He’s family now,” she says. “Meeting us must be hard for him too. We have to give him a chance.”
“I’ll give him a chance,” I say as I cross my arms and stare out the window. “But I’d hide the car keys if I were you.”
My mom frowns. “Eleanor.”
The cottage is perfect for a weekend getaway. I get all excited as we pull into the driveway until I remember that I have to share it with a freaking convict.
Maybe it won’t be so bad after all. It’s been snowing the entire way up here so the ski conditions are going to be phenomenal. If Tanner turns out to be a total jerk, I’ll just lose him on the mountain and ski by myself.
“Let’s try to have fun,” my mother says as she turns the car off. The vein on her temple is popping. She looks stressed.
But it’s nothing compared to David as he walks out of the cabin to greet us. I’ve never seen him look so disheveled and anxious. His hair and outfits are usually impeccable, but right now his hair is a mess and his shirt is untucked—a blasphemous act for Mr. Lawson.
This is not going to be the relaxing weekend I was promised.
We step out and I wave to David. He says hi through a clenched jaw.
Oh boy. Is it Sunday night yet?
I head to the back of our SUV and open the trunk. A weekend’s worth of food, bags, and skis are packed in here.
“This was a bad idea,” David whispers to my mom.
I duck down and shamelessly eavesdrop as I pull out the skis.
“The weekend hasn’t even started,” she says in a low calm voice. “Let’s give it a chance.”
“We fought the whole way up here!” David whispers back. “He’s the most stubborn, frustrating—Hey! There he is!”
The front door opens and closes as I pull out my mother’s and my skis and poles. I’m clutching them all to my chest in an awkward balancing act as I look over at my new stepbrother.