Smash_ A Stepbrother MMA Romance(94)

“I don’t believe you.”

I clenched my jaw. Typical spoiled college girl, acting like she knew better than me. “You don’t have to.”

“Why would you even say that?”

“Because you don’t need to get involved with people like her.”

“You don’t know anything about what I need.”

“I think you’d be surprised. I’m pretty good at figuring you out, Becca.”

She ignored that comment. “Are you going to the party or not?”

“Yeah, I’m going.”

“Okay. You’re my ride.”

I sighed. “And if I said no?”

“I’ll flush all your clothes down the toilet.”

I laughed. “Very mature.”

“Whatever. Nothing else gets through to you.”

“Fine. I’ll drive you. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

She stared at me for a second. “Thanks.”

“Need anything else?”

“I’ll let you know if I do.” She gave me a look and then turned and walked away.

I snorted. “Be ready by ten,” I called after her.

I shut the door and surveyed the stuff spread across the room. Becca had no clue what she was getting herself into coming to the party at Thom’s cousin’s place. The town had changed a lot since she had left.

Most of the changes weren’t visible. You could walk down the center of town tomorrow and fifty years ago and see almost no difference. But the heart of Ridgewood, its soul, was irrevocably different.

There was more crime. There was more unemployment. Gangs from Canada and California were moving in on the drug trade from across the border.

And I was a part of our lovely town’s slow decline into moral decrepitude. It wasn’t like that fact ever slipped my mind. I hated what I did, hated what I had to do. But I wasn’t about to watch my mom die without at least trying to ease their financial burden.

I didn’t go to high school. I didn’t learn a trade. My only skills involved hiking and climbing mountains really fast. Otherwise, I was useless.

Smuggling was the only thing I could do that really made a difference in our lives. Moral or not, I did it.

Someone else would have if it weren’t me. Plus, it wasn’t like I was selling the drugs or forcing anyone to take them.

At least that was how I justified it. Really, the only thing that helped me sleep at night was the fact that every dime I made went directly to my mom’s medical bills. Every single dime.

I couldn’t have spent that dirty money on myself.

It just felt wrong.

As I put the pack of matches into the front slot of my bag, I looked around my room. It took a few hours, but my bag was packed tight, every important item in its place.

I picked it up and considered the weight. It felt perfect. I didn’t know why I bothered weighing it, if only mentally, since I always packed the same stuff. Still, better safe than sorry. Any extra weight could be killer out there. Extra weight meant extra energy expended, and you needed every bit of energy when you were out in the middle of the deep forest with no hope of rescue.

I put the bag back down and walked into the main house. Jack had left for the mill and Mom was out running errands. I poured myself some coffee and stepped out onto the back porch.

Out among the trees was Becca. She was walking off into the woods. I had no clue where she was going, but it couldn’t have been far since she had no gear.

As I watched her ass move, an old memory suddenly hit me hard.

It was right after our parents got married and we were forced to move in together. I was having a hard time adjusting, or at least that’s what my mom said at the time. I had a climbing event one weekend, just some local thing that I won every year.

I couldn’t remember exactly why, but Jack and my mom forced Becca to come with me. Probably it was supposed to be some extra special bonding time for the new stepsiblings.

Little did they know, though.

She stayed the whole time. I wasn’t sure why, since it must have been so boring for her, but she stayed and watched. I ended up winning again, for the third year in a row, and afterward she came and found me standing by the car.

“That was pretty amazing, Reid,” she said.

“Thanks. It’s no big deal.”

“Seriously. You looked . . .” she trailed off and bit her lip. “You looked awesome,” she finished.

“Thanks,” I said again. “Hey, I’m about to take a little hike, cool down. Want to come with me?”

“Sure. Sounds good.”

I didn’t need to go for a cool down, but for some reason I wanted to spend more time with her. I wasn’t about to tell her that, though.

I led the way and she fell into step next to me. We walked in silence for a few minutes, enjoying the sunshine. I glanced over at her and she smiled.