[18+]
College student Hadley Bell is eager to return home for the holidays, but there's a problem. Her ex-no. 44 Nick Baker, Professional Snocross Racer and member of the Bell Race Team, still resides under her parent's roof.
Tensions run high, and...
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I gathered my things as quickly as I could—my fingers numb from the cold—and made my way to the trailer with a rather grumpy Janelle at my side. "What's wrong with you?" I asked. "You've been acting strange ever since we left the trailer."
She huffed. Downright pissed and no longer sporting a smile for the kids. "Your brother's a dick."
I lifted a brow. "Which one?" Wending through all the bodies as we made our way from Santa's village.
I had to make it to the trailer before the race. I wanted to ensure Baker was okay. It was an easy track for anyone to follow, but I felt the tension in his shoulders when Dallas showed up. Baker wasn't alright, and neither was I, but I didn't want my fear to seep into him and take him off his game. He had bigger things to worry about.
I wrung my hands out, stopping immediately when Janelle answered, "Luke."
She explained the phone call she received. "Your mom asked if you could take a few photos of the boys at the booth, but you were a little preoccupied with Sophia, so I volunteered. I thought, 'How hard could it be?'" Lifting her hands. "Then she handed me a camera."
Janelle continued, "I kept fumbling with the lens, so Nate jumped in, teasing me about how easy it is and how I have this knack for overcomplicating everything, and that's when Luke just snapped."
My brows furrowed. "That's odd," I mused more to myself, he was normally so patient.
"Odd or not, he did," she replied, still fuming. "And everyone heard him bark about my incompetence."
My chest caved. I couldn't shake the feeling that seeing Nate and Janelle together might've set him off. Still, it was no excuse for his outburst. Janelle was a perfectionist through and through, and it showed in her meticulously matched clothes, her perfectly kempt hair—unbound and hung past her shoulders today, right down to her polished nails. She aced every test, every paper, even the food she cooked was nothing short of divine. So Luke reaming her out in the middle of a crowded room because she was trying to achieve the perfect photo must have hacked a jagged hole in her self-esteem—fragile enough to obliterate.
We'd nearly reached the door when Janelle snatched my arm, halting me from all thought. "Oh my god, Hadley, look."
My head snapped, following Janelle's line of sight to my brother. "Nate? What the hell happened to his face?"
My older brother rolled his eyes when he caught sight of us, looking like he'd rather be anywhere else, but Janelle wouldn't have it.
She led, so concerned I thought she might start hurling people out of the way. "Nate," she said, addressing him and the massive blueberry-coloured bruise on his jaw and split lip. "Who did this to you?"
Her concern pricked my heart. I'd never seen her worry over someone that wasn't her nephew, Cash. Not even Dick when he'd get injured in a game, but it was Nate who drew my eye.
