Broken Trouble (Broken Storm #1) Read online

  I was a Pillsbury cement girl, leaving almost nothing to the imagination.

  Dylan's face turned red with a blush and he rolled off, mumbling an apology that was cut short when his body landed in the cement. He seemed to finally realize he was in the middle of a ton of cement.

  I glanced at Gavin, who had recovered from his banana split enough to crawl away from me and Dylan. No doubt he had dragged me back in and was now trying to make his escape.

  Landon and Jayden had made their way to the edge of the cement. Landon was laughing so hard he was running out of breath and Jayden just stood there smirking at us. Gavin made it to where Jayden stood and sludged out, but he grasped him by the shirt and slung him back in. Gavin slid through the cement on his back like a turtle.

  "What the hell? You're supposed to be on my side!" Gavin yelled at Jayden, who was trying to brush the wet cement from his hands. "I'm with whoever looks the best, and right now Nova's looking pretty damn hot."

  Gavin huffed, "Wyatt! Help me get out of this shit!" he yelled, catching Wyatt's attention, who was over at the truck.

  Wyatt began to slowly walk over.

  Jayden turned his eyes to Landon, who was still laughing like a madman. It took only a second before his laughter was cut short, as Jayden heaved him into the air and chucked him into the cement too.

  "Ah come on, that's no fair!" Landon complained.

  "You looked like you enjoyed watching it, so I thought you might like to join the fun," Jayden smirked, his eyes dark and evil.

  I crawled across the cement, hoping no one would notice as I tried to make my escape. The cement was starting to get really uncomfortable.

  "Where are you going sweetheart?" Jayden asked with a sexy grin.

  "Help me out," I said, lifting a hand towards him as I tried to find my footing.

  "I can never resist helping a damsel in distress. Perhaps I'll take you back to the castle and help you with your bath. I'm very good at scrubbing backs and other dirty body parts," Jayden wiggled his eyebrows and I rolled my eyes at his inappropriate remark.

  A huge ball of cement flew through the air and splattered Jayden's chest, then two more followed. He froze and glanced around and I did as well, finding both Landon and Dylan grabbing handfuls of cement and throwing it at him. Both guys looked pretty displeased with him.

  "Wait here, Sweetheart," Jayden growled and stomped through the cement towards his attackers.

  I took the opportunity to crawl out of the cement, my hands falling on dry ground as a hand grasped the back of my pants, plastering cement down the inside of my jeans, as I’m dragged backwards.

  I was so close.

  "You're not getting out of this shit before me," another handful of cement was shoved down the inside of my jeans, causing me to screech and jerk away.

  So he wanted to play that way did he?

  I shoved Gavin down into the cement, slamming my knee against his chest while I used my hands to scoop cement into the front of his pants. Let's see how he likes that.

  He cursed, which was expected, and flung me aside, sitting up on his knees. He pulled his pants away from his groin, as if trying to stop the cement from touching his man bits.

  "Having some problems brother?" Wyatt asked in amusement.

  "The bitch shoved cement down my pants. Fuck this," Gavin growled, moving carefully towards the edge.

  Wyatt pulled off his hat and ran a hand through his hair, a small grin tugged the corner of his mouth, but he still seemed extremely calm.

  Gavin paused, catching his brothers smirk, and his eyes narrowed. "You too?" he growled, then reached forward and grabbed his belt, yanking Wyatt into the cement with him.

  I heard a yell from behind me before getting sprayed with cement, a body landing near me. By this point, it was almost impossible to tell who was who.

  I laughed and threw a cement ball back at Landon, as I tried to defend who I thought was Dylan.

  "What in tarnation is going on here?" a voice yelled out, causing everyone to freeze. We turned as one, all of us dripping with cement as we looked towards where Chili stood.

  Uh oh.

  "She started it," Gavin growled, motioning towards me.

  Of course, this was all my fault.

  Chili held up his hand, stopping any of us from speaking. "I don't want to hear it. Go spray the cement off of y'all and then get back here and smooth all this back out before it sets," Chili shook his head with a frown, before walking towards the house, "Polly's got food waiting inside when y'all are done."

  Everyone sat in the cement for a moment before slowly standing and making their way out. I followed behind, wondering just how many showers there were at the farm and hoping I could get in one first. I really needed to get the cement off of my face before I ended up with cement lashes or I turned to stone.

  To my surprise, no one headed to the house, instead they all went to stand in a grassy spot. Wyatt got the hose out.

  Oh God, please no. Don't tell me we were supposed to wash off outside! How was I going to do that with all these guys around?

  "Stand in a row, let's spray this off," Wyatt ordered as he sprayed the cement off his hands.

  I guess it only made sense, the cement would set up in the pipes in the house.

  Everyone waited while he sprayed us off, with our clothes on, except the guys who were all removing their shirts.

  I couldn't help but stare and drool as each guy removed his shirt. Their muscles were tensed and tight as the water sprayed across them, their tanned skin showing off the wet gleam as they rubbed their hands across themselves to try and remove all traces of the cement.

  This was starting to feel like a scene in a very dirty movie.

  Every one of their chests were chiseled into hard muscles. Dylan had softer abs, but was still cut and extremely hot.

  I froze still as cold water sprayed across my body, cement sliding downward and off me. The blast of cold was good though, it forced my eyes away from them. I needed focus on removing the cement stuck to me.

  Luckily Polly showed up with an arm full of towels. I looked up at her, worried she’d be mad about the whole rolling in the cement thing, only to find her laughing.

  "Here's some towels boys, make sure you get all that cement off," Polly called out, then motioned for me to follow. I followed her behind the feed shed to find a rope had been tied between the back of the shed and a tree, a long sheet hanging from it, helping provide us more privacy.

  "Come on Honey, let's get ya cleaned up," Polly offered with a smile and motioned towards a water pump and soap. I felt relieved, at least I didn't have to strip in front of the boys.

  I stepped behind the sheet and glanced back at the guys just in time to see Gavin yanking his pants and boxers off, making his hot, pale rump the last thing I saw before disappearing behind the sheet.

  Chapter 6

  Rolling in cement may have been fun before, but an hour after we had finished scrubbing every inch of our bodies and changing our clothes, I could still feel the cement on my skin. My skin felt stiff and dust kept reappearing all over it. I couldn't tell if it was getting on my skin from where I was re-smoothing the cement or if the cement was seeping from my pores.

  Either way, I was ready for a nice hot shower to relax my muscles and get the rest of the dirt and cement off. Then I would do a full body massage with lotion.

  I couldn't tell if the guys were having the same issues or not, though I noticed Gavin kept shifting his legs around and scratching. I bet he was having a fun time with cement groin.

  Serves him right.

  I'm sure he would get me back later, just like Jayden still had to get me back for pouring lemonade over his head. The longer they took for payback, the more I worried. I was sure their revenge would be bad. They would both have different approaches; Gavin wouldn't care if I got hurt, since retribution alone would satisfy him. Jayden was a mystery though; I couldn't tell what he was planning.

  The sun moved closer and cl
oser to the horizon, and I was getting hungrier.

  As much as I wanted to stop and head inside to eat the food Chili said was waiting inside, I couldn't until we finished our job. The cement had already started to harden and was becoming tougher to smooth by the second.

  "I'm on the home stretch!" Landon called out, causing me to glance up from my work. Sure enough, we were all getting close to the end. We were so close to finishing I could almost feel the shower and taste the food.

  "Race?" Landon suggested, glancing around at the other guys with a grin.

  "You're on," Jayden smirked.

  "I'm in," Dylan spoke up, glancing at me.

  What the heck, might as well. "Let's see if you guys can beat a girl."

  Gavin growled from his spot, pausing in his work to scowl my way. Apparently he couldn't pass up the opportunity to beat me at something.

  "Ready, set," Landon smirked and started smoothing out his cement before yelling "Go!"

  Cheater!

  I flew into action, smoothing out the cement as quickly as I could. The guys had much more experience than I did and more muscle power, putting them all in the immediate lead ahead of me.

  Being a girl gave me the natural ability to be able to do tedious jobs better then guys though, so at least I had something going for me. Come on muscles, work faster. You have girl muscles, so put some girl power into it!

  However, smoothing out cement with a hoe just can’t go quickly, especially with the cement already hardening.

  Gavin kept taking out his aggression on the cement, chopping at it and making the cement all wavy and un-smooth, causing him to have to constantly backtrack and re-smooth it.

  All I had to do was beat Gavin, I didn't mind letting the others win if it meant making him loose.

  It was time to do some sabotaging.

  I found a fairly large chunk of cement that had already hardened and picked it up with the hoe, waiting until Gavin's focus was on the far side of his cement path away from me, before chucking the hunk right in the middle of his already smoothed cement.

  The cement hunk hit and splattered, landing sideways and standing up tall away from the rest.

  I quickly continued smoothing out my own cement, trying not to smirk or show any emotion that would give away that I was the one that had done it.

  "Who the fuck did that?" Gavin growled, his eyes snapping around at everyone.

  I focused harder on the cement, only glancing up when the others did and plastering a confused expression on my face. Like I had no idea what he was talking about.

  His eyes narrowed on my face for a few seconds, but he turned and focused on Jayden, who was closest to him. "Really? Do that again and see what happens."

  I guess he didn't think I had the guts to sabotage him, though it surprised me that he wasn't blaming it on me like he always did.

  Jayden just grinned and kept working, not giving Gavin's threat a second thought. When Gavin smacked at the hunk of cement, trying to get it to lay flat and smoothed out again, Jayden glanced at me with a knowing smile.

  So he knew it was me who threw the cement, did him not telling on me mean he approved? Of course it did, if anyone would be the most approving of playing dirty, it would be Jayden.

  "Done!" Landon yelled and I glanced over, seeing his section was smoothed to perfection. "Yes! Suck on that losers!" Landon shifted his hips around and did a wiggly jig that was his victory dance.

  Working without bravado in the competition, Dylan was a close second, receiving a high five from Landon. Wyatt finished next, whooping and throwing his hat in the air.

  Sweat dripped off my forehead and I brushed my hair out of my eyes, working as fast as I could and finally catching up to Gavin. The cement sabotage had slowed him down just enough. It was still looking bleak though, especially with Gavin eyeing my cement path like he was plotting my downfall.

  Jayden caught my eyes over Gavin's back and smirked, a dark twinkle sparking in his eyes. It could only mean one thing; he was either going to get me back or sabotage Gavin.

  I saw movement at the corner of my eye and saw Gavin's hoe hacking and smearing my cement around.

  "Hey!" I yelled, shouldering him away from my cement. Just because I cheated didn't mean he could! Before I even thought about it, I had my hoe on his side, messing up his cement.

  It turned into a hoe down.

  A battle to see who could mess up the other’s side more.

  It was in the heat of the battle, that Jayden took the opportunity to strike.

  He pantsed Gavin.

  Both of us dropped our hoes, battle forgotten, as Gavin rushed to pull up his pants and I rushed to shield my eyes. My face was already burning from what I’d seen out of the corner of my eye.

  It made the second time today I had seen Gavin with his pants down and now I had seen both sides.

  Gavin cursed loudly and I could hear the other guys laughing hysterically.

  I willed myself not to look again and shielded the side of my face where Gavin was, trying to complete the race. I’d have been more effective if I could use both hands.

  Gavin and the other boys were making so much noise, soft thuds and more laughter, and it was tugging at my curiosity, tempting me to peek. Gavin's constant cursing told me he still hadn't managed to pull his pants up.

  I felt something brush my hand and jerked sideways, spotting the black leather of a cowboy hat. Wyatt's cowboy hat to be exact. Glancing over I noticed Wyatt was holding it up beside my head, shielding my view of Gavin. The smell of peppermint drifted off of him, making me wonder if he ate a lot of it or used some kind of peppermint cologne. He grinned and nodded towards my work, silently telling me to continue.

  I took the opportunity I was given and grabbed the hoe with both hands, smoothing out the rest of my cement within minutes.

  I dropped the hoe and Wyatt pulled back his hat, sliding it onto his head. My eyes landed on Gavin, who was sprawled out on the ground, breathing heavily with his pants just over his hips, his shirt riding up to expose the deep V of his abdomen.

  "Cheaters! You're all fucking cheaters!" he yelled.

  "I never said cheating wasn't allowed," Landon admitted with a shrug, his eyes still sparkling with laughter.

  "Boys, try to keep your pants on around the ladies," Chili's voice came from behind me, causing me to spin around.

  How did he do that? He was like a cowboy ninja, you could never hear him coming, even with the spurs on his boots.

  All the boys straightened and shifted uncomfortably, nodding and saying, "Yes sir," to Chili.

  Chili's eyes darted to each of the guys, watching them closely before nodding to the house. "I'll finish up here, y'all get up to the house and clean yourselves good for supper."

  We headed off to the house and I felt Jayden wrap an arm around me, pulling me closer to him as we walked.

  His head dropped closer to my ear, "I can't promise I can keep my pants on around you, Sweetheart. Though I think when you see what I have to offer, you'll be blushing for an entirely different reason."

  I could still feel the heat in my cheeks from catching a glimpse of Gavin, but Jayden's words made me blush harder.

  I laughed and shoved him away, hoping to cover up my embarrassment, "I'm not blushing, it's just the heat from the sun."

  Jayden chuckled darkly before grabbing me around the waist, and lowering his face close to mine, "Sweetheart, don't bother lying to me," he lowered his voice even more, so only I could hear, his fingers brushing against my chin to tilt my head towards his, and his eyes intensifying as my breath stuck in my throat. His face, his lips were so close to mine, "I see you."

  Jayden pulled his head back, rubbing his thumb across my chin before pulling back and walking towards the house. I stood there, frozen in place, watching the guys go inside and leaving me wondering just how much of me could he see.

  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

  I took extra time in the shower, making sure to scrub my skin and hair extr
a well. I pulled out, several small bits of cement stuck in my hair. The quick scrub down with Polly didn’t get it all out.

  I rubbed lotion over my body and quickly dressed in my last clean pair of jeans, which were a black pair of studded skinny jeans. I pulled on a Screaming Mercy band shirt, the open mouth skull on the front had flames licking the bones. I found it illustrated how I felt most days, like the world was ripping me apart, slowly burning away my flesh until there was nothing left of me but a ghost of a soul.

  I quickly brushed my hair and put on my usual black eyeliner, though I opted for chap stick instead of the dark lipstick that I always wore.

  Examining myself in the mirror, I wondered what the guys saw in me. Why did Dylan like me so much? Did he just like me for my breasts or did he actually see something in my personality?

  Jayden said that he could see me, obviously he didn't mean just with his eyes. If he could see who I was on the inside, even if it was just a tiny piece, why was he attracted to me? I was sure that if anyone knew how destroyed and broken I was, then they would be running.

  So why weren't they? Did they not see how damaged I was? Was Gavin the only one who could see the darkness in me?

  I sighed and walked back down the hall to my room to grab my shoes. I had to thank Polly for cleaning them. While I was scrubbing the cement off my body earlier today, she was scrubbing it off my shoes. I was glad that most of it came off since they were the only shoes I had, and I didn't have the money to replace them.

  I went to the kitchen where Polly stood by the counter, patting thick hamburgers, a large pile sat on a platter and my eyes widened at the amount.

  Polly glanced up and smiled at me, "Honey can ya get the steak sauce from the cabinet over there? The Wilkens are coming over this evening to pick up their cement truck and we're going to grill hamburgers and have us a bonfire. Clay's son will be here too, he's a good boy and his girlfriend is such a sweetheart. I'm sure they'll be getting married soon, when he finally gets around to asking her." Polly continued talking, going on about weddings and the best times to have them.