26. Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Six
Dallas
“ Y ou’re late, dickhead,” Sawyer spits at me.
“So, blow me, shithead.”
I toss my bag and gear into the back of Carter’s SUV and move to help tie down our snowboards to the roof.
“Off to a fantastic start fam! Sooo excited to be stuck in a fuckin’ car with you three cheerful Sally’s for the next six fuckin’ hours,” Carter chastises.
“Are you leaving your pregnant wife behind, Casanova?” Sawyer quips back.
“Ah, so lover boy is out? I’m good with Casanova. And fuck no, I will never be a father. I’ll be the cool-as-shit funcle who lets them have extra cake on their birthday and try weed for the first time when they’re teenagers,” Carter says, and I laugh loudly.
“Do you wanna die, asshole?” Sawyer says through his teeth. Carter’s right, he’s much grouchier than normal, so I simmer down a bit.
Sawyer and I step on the side bars on opposite ends of the SUV and reach over to lock everything in place on the roof.
“Hey, you doin’ okay? Kinsey is staying with her, she’ll be fine, you know that, right?”
“I’m just not ready to be away from her. I just got her back.”
“I get it. But you made her your wife and put a baby in her, she’s not runnin’ this time.”
“Yeah. You’re right, just uneasy.”
We tighten the straps down tight, making sure our precious cargo doesn’t go anywhere when we’re flying down the highway. Sawyer double-checks the straps before speaking, “Yep! that ain’t goin’ anywhere. Alright, we’re good to go. Get in, idiots, we got a mountain to get to!”
Signaling the end of our conversation, the four of us climb into the car and get comfortable for a long-ass drive up north. Mount Baker, get ready for the Hayes boys.
About an hour into the drive, Carter pulls out his cooler with road sodas and cracks one open, handing it to me before doing the same for himself. I take a long pull of the beer, even though it’s the ass crack of dawn still. My head is still fuzzy from everything that happened with Blaire. I’ve never experienced anything like that before, so fully lost to another person. She’s so damn perfect. I fucking hate that I have to leave her for two days.
Liam continues to play his shitty-ass music from the passenger seat, nineties alternative rock blaring from the speakers. If he plays something by Third Eye Blind one more time I’m tempted to tie him by his ankles and drag him from the tailgate the rest of the way to Demming. I relax in my seat and try to tune out the noise, looking out my window at the cars we pass on the highway like I did when I was a kid, bored out of my damn mind.
“Hey, Casanova,” I say to my youngest brother, “dare you to moon this semi comin’ up.”
“Hold my beer.”
Carter hands me his drink, unbuckles and lifts himself so his ass is in the window, drops his pants, and does a little shake just as we’re passing the semitruck. A horn blares several times and we both lose it, laughing in our seats.
“Are you two fuckin’ ten? You’re gonna get us killed. Haven’t you seen Joy Ride ?” Liam yells at us from the passenger seat.
“You talking about the movie with Paul Walker?” I ask, still wheezing in laughter.
“Yes, idiot and Steven Zahn.”
“Who cares, he’s not going to track us down and try to kill us, just laugh and quit being a little bitch.”
“You wanna walk the rest of the way?”
I roll my eyes and look at Carter, who’s still laughing. At least he’s trying to have some fun. Sawyer and Liam need to take a chill pill, or this is going to be the year we all kill each other on this trip.
Five long-ass hours later, including a handful of stops to grab food and switch drivers, we pull up to our Airbnb not a second too soon. Carter throws it in park, and hauls ass up to the front door, fumbling with the keypad to unlock it, I’m assuming to take a leak.
“Fuckin’ finally. Being cramped in there with you idiots once a year is enough to drive me mad,” Sawyer says as he steps out of the passenger seat and stretches his body.
“You know we still have to drive back, right?” I ask just to piss him off.
“Fuck you, dickhead. Help me get the shit inside.”
Liam knocks his shoulder against mine as we open the trunk.
“We need to update his nickname, shithead aint cutting it anymore.”
“Crotchety old man seems like it’ll fit,” I say under my breath.
Liam finally cracks a laugh as we start hauling our duffel bags and gear out of the back to bring inside for the night. Once inside, the yells, grunts, and thumps coming from down the hall get our asses moving to find out what the hell is going on. Liam and I walk in on Sawyer holding Carter to the ground with his arm wrapped around his neck, Carter shifting his body weight to flip Sawyer.
“Tap, little bro. You don’t get the master bedroom. I’m the oldest and you’re still a little shit. Tap!”
“Ff-u-ck yooou.”
Sawyer squeezes a bit more, Carter’s face starting to drain of color. I lean back against the door frame and cross my arms, a huge smirk on my face, happy to watch from this side for a change. I’m surprised Liam and Carter break Sawyer and me up so quickly. It’s pretty amusing to watch.
“C’mon, Carter, just tap. You were never gettin’ this room. We got shit to unpack and stuff to do,” Liam says as he walks out and leaves me to my entertainment. Carter tries several more times to get out of Sawyer’s hold with no luck before he finally taps out. Sawyer’s a natural fighter, boxing is his thing, but he also has dabbled in mixed martial arts. Sawyer releases him and stands, fixing his clothes and reaching for Carter to pull him on his feet.
“We good now? Get your shit out of here and let’s get settled.” Sawyer runs his hands through his hair, pulls out his phone, and walks away, no doubt to call Ivy and let her know we made it. My fingers itch to call Blaire, but my brothers know I’m never on my phone and would get suspicious. Grabbing my things, I toss them into one of the rooms that isn’t Sawyer’s special suite and seek out my other two brothers to get a plan together.
Later that night, the four of us are sitting in the living room, drinking beers and talking when I decide to pull out the dice I brought with me for our traditional game of Cee-Lo. I drop them on the coffee table in front of us and sit back with a smug grin. We play this every year, and it gets heated when you’ve got four heavy-headed competitive fuckers putting money down like it’s on fire.
“Oooohhhh! You wanna do this, huh?”
“Pull out your cash you little shits, let’s go!” Sawyer yells while rubbing his hands together, moving to the edge of his seat.
I grin ear to ear, ready to get started. Cash is thrown onto the table and we take turns rolling, Sawyer, Carter and I sipping on the whiskey bottle like it’s water, the beer no longer cutting it. A few rounds of rolling happen, and money gets passed back and forth before it’s my turn to be the banker. I pull out a hundred-dollar bill and drop it in the middle.
“Like fuckin’ clockwork. Always the shit-stirrer,” Liam jokes, “alright, boys, let’s do this.”
Everyone matches my hundred, dropping the cash they came prepared with on top of mine.
Shaking the dice in my hand, I drop them on the table, the dice bouncing and spinning before coming to a stop. A four-five-six.
“Motherfucker!” Liam yells as I snatch up the four hundred dollars.
I wake to the blaring god-awful sound of “Never Gonna Give You Up” by Rick Astley and cover my head with my pillow while I groan. It’s a bullshit hour and I know I have to get my ass moving but I wait until the smell of bacon travels through the air and I’m sure that Liam has food ready. Dragging my ass from the bed, I pull on my sweats and toss a hoodie over my head to go find coffee and sustenance.
“Plates already on the table, dickhead. How you feelin’?” Liam asks.
“Like ass. How are you so chipper?”
“I didn’t drink as much as you did. Didn’t want to puke the entire way down the slopes like you’re gonna do.”
“Well, here’s to hoping this grease soaks up all the poison then, yeah? Or I’ll be sure to blow chunks all over you.”
I search through a bunch of cabinets before finding the mugs and pour some much-needed coffee. After sitting down at the table with my plate of bacon, some sausage links, and scrambled eggs, Sawyer and Carter walk in, grabbing their plates and scarfing down their food in silence, Carter looking similar to how I currently feel. The alcohol is still sloshing around in my stomach and through my veins like sludge.
After breakfast, I pour a second cup of coffee and we go our separate ways, the adrenaline starting to kick in for our day ahead. I get ready, grabbing what I need to, and head outside to find Liam already packing up the car and Sawyer typing away on his phone. I double check that the boards are secured and take a seat in the back of the SUV. Sawyer finally gets off his phone and climbs into the driver’s seat, Liam joining us in the passenger.
“Who’s going to get him?”
The three of us throw our fists toward the center console while yelling, “Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!”
Losing, I say, “Best of three.”
“Fuck you, go get him!” Sawyer yells.
I jump out of the back of the car and jog back up to the house.
“C’mon, Casanova! Move your ass! We got places to be!” I yell from the entryway.
By the time we’re pulling in, parking is a nightmare, per usual, but once we find a spot and triple-check that we have everything we need, we get on the shuttle to take us to the lodge. The line to get tickets is longer than I remembered, and I fidget on my feet restlessly, itching to be out on the mountain again. The air is brisk, the sun starting to peek over the mountains, and I know it’s going to be a damn good day.
“Shit,” Carter moans as we near the ticket counter.
“What now?”
“I forgot my wallet.”
“Are you kidding me right now?”
“You were rushing me!”
“We waited for ten minutes!”
“There’s nothing we can do about it now, we’re almost through this bullshit line. I’m itching to get out there, so shut the hell up and let’s just survive this,” I tell him.
Once we’re finally through all the bullshit, it all fades to the background, because it’s me and the trail. We got here at opening so the mountain is still quiet and all seems right in the world. We start on an easy one, getting our footing and finding that muscle memory that hasn’t been used in a year. The moment I’m heading out on my board, a rush of adrenaline engulfs me. The crisp, cool air fills my lungs as I look through my goggles at the pure white, flawless powder in front of me.
We start to pump it up after that, branching out. By the third run, we head to the natural halfpipe off the C5 chairlift and it’s like coming home. I’m in my element. With every turn and leap, the world melts away behind me. I live for this.
Sitting next to Sawyer on the next lift, I use it as an opportunity to check in with him. Something that both of us have sucked at the last few months. I wish I could come clean to him about Blaire, but I know she’s not ready yet and I’ll be damned if I betray her trust.
“How are you feeling about becoming a dad?”
“Ready for her to be here, honestly.”
“Wait, her ?”
“Oh shit, yeah. It’s a girl. Don’t repeat it. Ivy wants it to be a surprise.”
“That’s amazing, man. I’ve never seen you happier, I’m happy for you.”
“Still doesn’t feel real some days. I wasn’t living, you know? Just kind of existing because I had to. I don’t think I’ll ever take for granted waking up next to her after losing her.”
“Well, you made damn sure that you won’t. Put that baby in her quick.”
“First time I had her again,” he says with a laugh, “I told her and gave her options, but fuck if I was going waste any time using something like condoms. I love her, swollen with my baby inside her. I’ll fuckin’ do it again as soon as she’s healthy enough to carry another one.”
“You’re a freak, you know that?”
But even saying the words, I can’t help but imagine what it would be like to settle down with Blaire and watch her stomach grow with my child in it. I’m in no way ready for that now, but I wonder if she wants kids and how many. She said all she wished for was a family, and now I feel the desire to know more.
“Remember when Kins was a baby?”
“How could I not? She was so good and sweet. Everything that’s right and perfect in the world.”
“Now look at her. Feral little gremlin.”
“Hey, we made her that way. At least she can hold her own.”
We both laugh and I wonder if she’s using the time we’re away to lose her mind a bit. Even when she was at college, one of us was always checking in on her, never quite giving her the freedom to do whatever she wanted. Overprotective dicks, but we love her too much to let anything happen to her.
After two more runs, we’re ready for food and a drink.
“Which lodge for food?” Liam asks on the way out.
“Heather Meadows,” I tell him.
“Hell no, we’re going to Raven Hut. I’m craving their brisket,” Sawyer says.
“Kiss my ass, shithead, I spoke first. Liam, go to Heather Meadows.”
My brother’s hand connects with the back of my skull with a loud slap. I whip my head in his direction, pushing my palm against the side of his face and knocking his head against the car window, holding it in place.
“What about White Salmon Lodge? Raven Hut’s food sucks,” Carter chimes in.
“Heather. Meadows.”
Sawyer smacks my forearm, knocking his face free of my hold.
“Raven. Hut.”
“Seriously, let’s go to White Salmon, I want to see if that chick is still waitressing. She was a fun time last year.”
“NO!” Sawyer and I both yell at Carter.
We end up getting burgers at Raven Hut, everyone except Carter, who orders the same chicken tenders he gets every year.
“They’re the best I’ve ever had, so shut the hell up,” he tells us while flagging down our waitress.
“Four tequila shots, please, beautiful.”
“Alright, tone it down there, Casanova. Don’t need to be bringing your A-game to the lodge. I’m sure she gets hit on enough,” Liam tells him.
Two tequila shots later, we drag our asses back out. The next trail is the longest but has a nice S turn to get our post-lunch feet back in motion. I lose myself to the mountain.
Back at our Airbnb, things start to get a little wild. Blame it on the lack of sleep, the delirium of being on the slopes all day, the adrenaline crash, or just being away with no responsibilities, but we tend to lose our minds. Carter stands with his pants pulled down over his ass, bent over the picnic table outside while Sawyer heats up a metal poker in the fire pit we started.
“How ’bout a belt to put between your teeth?” Liam suggests.
Carter just grunts. “How the fuck did I lose this goddamn bet again?”
“You were a shit-eating, cocky-ass motherfucker who thought he could beat us down the slope. Loser gets a branding to his ass. Isn’t that what you said? How’d it work out for you, huh, Casanova? The ladies are gonna love to see this one,” Sawyer reminds him, and I hunch over in laughter. Liam joins me.
“Hold him down, boys! This one’s gonna sting!”
I pull my shirt over my nose, anticipating the rancid smell of burnt flesh as Sawyer holds the poker over Carter’s ass cheek, and Liam and I grab our brother’s arms. The sizzle hits my ears before the smell comes and I wince, clenching my ass cheeks together in sympathy.
“MOTHERFUCKER!” Carter wails.
And my brothers and I fall to the ground in a fit of laughter.