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The late Senator Brown was from Massachusetts. If Brett was running in the special election to fill the spot left open by the senator’s recent death, he had relocated.
She dropped her hand back in her lap. “North Salem. He bought a house there a few years ago but hasn’t spent much time there. It’s a cute little town. My cousin Jake’s wife is originally from there.”
He’d never heard of it, but considering the name, it must be located on the North Shore near Salem, a city
probably everyone in the United States was familiar with thanks to the famous Salem Witch trials in the early 1690s.
“Brett wouldn’t joke about running for the Senate, so I know he’s serious. But I never would’ve expected it from him. One of my cousins, definitely, but not him. He doesn’t need it, but I offered to help out with the campaign.”
Having the last name Sherbrooke already gave her brother a leg up over whoever he ran against, and they both knew it.
“Are we almost there?” Erin called from the back seat. Until now she’d spent the ride from the city to his dad’s home in Stamford, Connecticut, with her head buried in a book while she listened to music.
Hoping to avoid traffic, he’d avoided the highways as much as possible. While it made for a more enjoyable ride, it also made the trip slightly longer. “About another five minutes.”
“Modern contemporary” described the architecture style of the home his dad built eight years ago, and at least from the outside it resembled several of the houses near it. While not Gavin’s preferred style, he didn’t find anything distasteful about the exterior.
The inside was another matter entirely.
Thanks to Kerry, his dad’s fourth wife, ostentatious and gaudy were the only two words in the English language that adequately described the home’s interior. Since she was only a year older than him, Gavin couldn’t think of the former beauty pageant contestant and model as his stepmother. And while she was sweet and seemed to be a good mother, Kerry decorated homes the same way she dressed: to draw attention.
Piper opened the front door and gave him a quick hug and a hello before turning all her attention to Erin. “I’ve been waiting for you to get here,” she said to Erin, who, although neither girl ever thought about it, was technically her niece. “I have to tell you something.” Piper grabbed Erin’s hand and pulled her toward the staircase.
He didn’t think his half sister could have anything left to tell Erin. Since she’d been with him, Erin had talked to Piper on the phone almost every day. Even when she was in Providence with her mom, they talked a few times a week.
“I bet it’s about a boy,” Leah commented.
“She won’t even be eleven until next week.” He didn’t know what Piper needed to tell Erin, but it didn’t involve a boy.
Leah chuckled softly. “Wait. You’ll see I’m right.”
Dad and Kerry had been married for almost twelve years. To date it was the longest any of Dad’s marriages had lasted. Yet even after twelve years, Gavin found it awkward when he introduced Kerry, a woman young enough to be his father’s daughter, as Dad’s wife.
Linking their hands, Gavin started toward the back of the house. In the summer, his dad’s wife liked to entertain outside around the pool. “Have you ever met Kerry?”
“Nope, but I met your dad once,” she replied.
He was about to tell her a little about his father’s wife when Kerry opened the glass door and stepped inside.
“Gavin.” She moved straight toward them, her large breasts barely contained in her bikini top and a sarong tied low around her waist exposing her flat, well-toned stomach. And even from several yards away he could see the large diamond belly ring sparkling in her navel.
Kerry wrapped her arms around him and kissed him on the mouth. Beside him Leah stiffened, and he wished he’d told her all about Dad’s wife last night.
“Piper’s been driving me crazy wanting to know when you and Erin would get here,” she said, dropping her arms back to her sides.
He didn’t need to look. He felt Leah’s eyes shooting laser beams his way, demanding some answers. If the roles were reversed and some guy planted one on Leah’s lips, he’d be demanding answers too.
“Erin didn’t want to get out of bed this morning,” he explained before he cleared his throat. “Kerry, this is my girlfriend, Leah.”
This is Gavin’s stepmom? She picked her chin up off the floor.
At least half her friends and several of her former boyfriends had stepparents, so she’d met plenty of stepmothers. Never had she been introduced to one who was about her own age and dressed like this for a family party. Or one who kissed her stepson on the lips.
“Piper said you were bringing your girlfriend.” Kerry looked her way. “It’s nice to meet you.” Rather than extend a hand, Kerry hugged her, leaving Leah no other choice but to reciprocate.
“Erin told Piper all about the day she spent shopping with you. From what Piper shared, it sounded like you two had a lot of fun. And now Piper is begging to redecorate her room again. We did it last year around Christmas.”
Leah wondered if the girl’s bedroom was as over the top as what she’d seen so far of the house.
