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He raises his eyebrows.
“She lives here. Or she will when the reno’s done.”
“You reconnected a few days ago and you’re already moving in together?”
“I told you, man. I love her. Always have. No reason to wait.”
Ryan looks toward the driveway then back to me as he puts the pieces together. “So all those times in high school when you said you couldn’t hang out because you were eighteen and couldn’t risk it, that was because of her, wasn’t it?” There’s a hint of accusation in his voice.
“It was the truth. I could’ve screwed up my scholarship if I got caught with you guys while you were drinking. But it was a convenient excuse so I could spend time with Sawyer, yeah.” I rub my hand over the back of my neck.
“Sleeping with your underage step-sister wouldn’t have screwed things up with your scholarship?”
“That’s another reason I didn’t say anything,” I admit with a heavy sigh.
“Even to me?” He looks at the ground to avoid looking at me. Damn, I should’ve realized he’d be offended by my secrecy.
“To everyone. We were scared of the consequences. Losing my scholarship, hurting our parents, being forced apart, if a single person didn’t accept us, they could ruin everything, so we didn’t say anything. We didn’t want to risk it. It came out though, which is why it took until now to get her back.”
Ryan exhales heavily, taking it all in. “I can imagine. Misleading or not, she’s technically your stepsister. I’m sure your dad didn’t approve of you hooking up with the girl you lived with. And I bet her dad…oh shit.! That’s what the rumors are about, aren’t they?” He stares at me with wide eyes.
“What rumors?”
“That Colt stormed out of the Stallions facility today. No one’s saying why, just that he got in an argument with someone from the GM’s office. That’s you, right?”
“That’s why you’re here.” I connect the dots. Coming to check out my disaster of a house didn’t make any sense.
“So, Colt found out about you two and he’s pissed?” Ryan sips his beer.
“Colt’s known since the beginning.” That gets him choking again. “He’s fine with the two of us, he’s just pissed because I won’t tell him where Sawyer is.”
“You’re hiding her or holding her hostage?” He dabs at his shirt between coughs.
“They had an argument and she isn’t ready to talk to him yet.” I wave away his concerns. “It’s a long story, but as soon as she’s ready to talk to him I’ll make it happen. I’m just going to do that on her timetable, not his.”
“What are the Stallions going to say about the argument?”
“I have no idea. I don’t work there anymore.”
“Jesus, will you stop with the bombshells?” He wipes his mouth again. “The least you could do is let me finish my drink before you drop another one.”
I grab a paper towel from the roll on top of the fridge and hand it to him.
“Thanks. So what happened? Did they fire you for getting into an argument with Colt?”
“No, they implied dating Sawyer would cause a scandal and I had to choose between the team and her. So, I quit.”
“Damn, you really do have it bad.” He finishes his beer and tosses it in the trash can.
“Have you been listening to anything I’ve said?”
“Yeah,” he nods emphatically. “I just didn’t believe you.”
“Why not?”
“What are the odds both you and your dad would fall for someone you met in high school?” He shrugs like that’s an obvious justification.
“Age has nothing to do with it.”
