Chapter 4
four
. . .
Colin
Ronan hadn't come home the night before, which wasn't unusual.
He was spending more and more time at his girlfriend's house.
Rachel had a little boy, Jack, who Ronan adored, and the feeling was mutual.
Never in a million years would I have guessed that my wild, reckless twin would make great father material.
My brother Jameson, too. Jameson had found out he was a dad when a former fling all but dropped the kid on his doorstep.
Rio was in her teens now, and being the first girl in the family, we all loved and protected her as if she was our own.
My gruff old man lit up whenever Rio walked into the room.
And man, if she didn't have a big enough personality to keep all of us under her thumb.
I rummaged through a mostly empty fridge and realized my stomach was still trying to settle after the chili omelet I'd downed at midnight.
I grabbed an ice pack for my knee and hobbled out to the living room.
I'd managed to rent a pretty sweet apartment with all the money I made from sponsors, but my crash, especially after being in reach of a title, had caused a few to pull their contracts.
Money was going to be tight, and there was a good chance I'd have to leave the nice apartment behind.
Ronan was still rooming with me, but he didn't make enough money to pay half the rent.
Besides that, I was sure he'd move out for good soon to be with Rachel and Jack.
My phone rang. I answered it. "Ace, buddy, talk to me.
I'm having a shitty morning, so only talk if you've got something good to relay.
" Aside from Ronan and all my half-brothers, Ace was my best friend.
We'd been on the same snowboarding circuit since we were teens.
And while we were occasionally each other's fiercest competitor, we never let it get in the way of our friendship.
"Well, you are in luck, my friend, because I just snagged the family beach house for a month.
Perfect place for you to recuperate and, at the same time, not recuperate too much.
I'm thinking parties and hot women five maybe six nights a week.
In between, we might even drag our pasty white asses down to the beach for some surfing.
How's that for good news for your shit morning?
Why are you already having a shit morning?
It's only ten, and you're already hating life? "
I decided not to bring up last night and the weird chase for my sweatshirt. After I crashed on the mountainside last season, my best buddy had won the contest. I didn't want to bring up my knee. He told me he'd been twisted with guilt about that win because he knew I'd been on the way to victory.
"That's fucking awesome news, Ace, but I'm flat broke. Sponsors are drying up fast."
"Then you're in luck because you don't need to bring anything but your clothes, your surfboard and that Wilde charm that lures all the girls to the door."
"What you're saying is you're using my family connections to get laid. I'm down for it. When do we leave?"
"Two hours?"
"Sounds good."
"Woo-hoo! Gonna be a fucking month-long party.
" He hung up. I loved Ace, but a month with him in a beach house would probably be two weeks too long.
I'd drive my own truck out to the beach, so I could leave when he got on my nerves.
He was a little too upbeat these days for me.
His sponsorships soared just as mine took a dive.
I was happy for him, but it was hard to listen to him bragging about all the cash and offers flowing in.
Last week, he got a seven-figure deal to film a commercial for some kind of super spicy kettle chips.
He spent the rest of the day looking at expensive cars.
And the most annoying thing about all of it was Ace's family was rich.
Not mega, private-jet rich but rich enough to own a cool fucking beach house and a giant mountain cabin.
My phone rang again. "Yeah?" I answered thinking he was calling me back.
A tongue clicked loudly. "Is that any way to answer a phone, young man?
" Rio chirped through the speaker. Lately her voice was cracking as her little girl tone was being replaced by a much older sound.
I was already missing the little kid tone.
"Anyhow, I'm in a bit of a pickle, and I need your help. "
It was impossible not to smile when talking to Rio. I rested back against the couch cushion. "Is that right? How can I help with this pickle?"
"Well, Charlotte Moore, most popular girl in school, is having a meetup at the park. And as hard as I worked for an invitation, I didn't get one."
"I already hate her."
"See, me too, only I'd do anything to be her friend." Rio grew quieter. "Is that stupid?"
"Nah, I get it. It's been a few centuries, but I was once your age, remember? What do you need me to do?"
"It's actually quite a simple and brilliant plan. See, Charlotte is Team Colin. She even has a picture of you snowboarding on her locker door. She just copied and pasted it from the internet or something."
"Well, Charlotte just scored a few points."
Rio had huffing down to an art. "You're so conceited."
"Well, I have a team, so it's kind of hard not to be. Just how many girls are on Team Colin?"
"At the risk of making your head even bigger, there are six on Team Colin and five on Team Ronan."
"Ha, take that Ro," I said.
"That's only because I had to break the news that RoRo is taken now, so a few of his team jumped shipped and moved to either Team Colin or Team Nate."
"Team Nate, hmm, do I want to ask?" My youngest brother was a budding rock star and had a massive fan club. He'd been top dog since the day he was born.
She clucked her tongue again. "It'll only hurt your feelings. After all, it's Nate."
"Right. I'm getting hungry. A Taco Man burrito is calling my name. What do you want me to do? And no, I won't send a shirtless picture to your little friend, or a text, for that matter. There will be no communication given."
"Duh, I'm not stupid. I just need you to give me a lift to the park. My friend Brenda and I are going roller blading. And if you happen to jump out of the truck to, I don't know, hand me the helmet I left behind or something that would be awesome. Shirt still optional."
"No, it's not optional. Fine. I'll drive you. What time should I pick you up?"
"An hour?" she asked hopefully.
"I guess so. You owe me some blueberry pancakes."
"Yep, I'll make you a whole stack. Oh, and Brenda is Team Colin, too, so she might be kind of ridiculous and giggly on the drive to the park. Just ignore her. And thanks. You're my favorite uncle."
I laughed. "Yeah, I could swear I heard you tell Ro that just the other day."
"Well, today, you're at the top of the list. I've got to get ready. Bye."
I rested back again. Rio's dad, Jameson, was second born.
He was always the moodier, quieter Wilde brother.
He spent years pining for his best friend's sister.
She was dating someone else, and Jameson never considered himself worthy of someone like Indiana Nash.
Then Indi just sort of fell back into his life.
The chemistry was rough at first until they realized they were always meant to be.
Indi became an instant mom to Rio, and my niece adored her.
She was exactly the woman Rio needed after her own shitty mom all but abandoned her.
The door opened and Ronan stepped inside.
I laughed. "Tough night? You look like someone chewed you up and spit you out."
"Fuck, have you ever been in the same room with twelve four-year-olds hyped up on cake and punch?"
"Nope and I don't plan to ever find myself in that situation," I told him as he trudged through the room.
"Just wait until you find the one. Your life will turn upside down, too, and I will be there to laugh at you just like you're doing now." His bedroom door closed, and if I knew my brother, and I certainly did, he'd fall face down on the bed and sleep for the next five hours.
I got up from the couch. My knee was feeling better.
I was ready for my acting role at the park.
Ronan's words crept into my head as I brushed my teeth "wait until you find the one.
" Just couldn't imagine that ever happening to me but then crazier shit had happened.
After all, Zander was in a solid, one-woman relationship. That was really some bonkers shit.