Distract her.“Hey, so your parents—”
My phone blasted through the Bluetooth speaker, and I winced. “Shit, that’s loud!”
“It’s okay.” She clutched her hand to her chest. “You can answer. Maybe it’ll be as embarrassing as my mom calling.”
“Doubtful.” I hit the talk button and regretted it the second my brother’s voice came through the speakers.
I knew better than to just answer. Who else would call on a holiday but family?
“Hair ball.” His tone was irritatingly bright and cheerful. “Merry fucking Christmas.”
I tightened my grip. “Yeah, you too, Hank.”
“What’s this bullshit about you not flying out to see your baby bro? I’m in the bowl, man. I could win it! I know that would just grind your gears, huh bro? Me in the bowl, you not. How mad are you, for realsies?”
Hank loved taunting me when our parents weren’t around, and he had the unique ability to piss me off more than any other human. My pulse pounded around my temples, and every muscle in my back hurt.
Deep breath.
“We had a blizzard.” I swallowed hard before continuing. “I’ve been snowed in for three days without power. Have you seen the news?”
“Too busy getting ready for the game. Mom and Dad got here a couple days ago, and we’re hitting a resort. Blair bailed, too, but I guess it’s not fun traveling with those three demons. Am I right? Those kids are a shit ton of work. We got it made, huh? No kids. Decent income. Well, I do at least. My season kicked ass.”
Jesus. He’s a dick.
I blew out a breath. “Again, we’re snowed in. We didn’t have a choice. Enjoy the resort with Mom and Dad.”
“Why’re you rushing me off the phone? I know you’re home alone, and no offense bro, but you’re not the best company. You should thank me for calling you. Who knows how many days it’s been since you’ve seen a human? If you would’ve won some games, you could’ve gotten a piece of tail. But that ship sailed, bro.” He cackled, and I wanted to punch the windshield.
“Harrison, come back to bed.” Becca cupped her hands over her mouth, making her voice sound muffled. It was perfect, and I damn near proposed then and there.
“Dude. You’re with a chick? What the fuck? Who is she? She hot?”
“Bye, Hank.” I hung up, mortified at my blood relative and thankful for Becca’s quick thinking. “That was my wonderful brother.”
“What a…” She paused a long second as she gathered her thoughts. “… Self-absorbed, pompous man-child. Oh! I’m so mad.” She shook her head and held her fists in the air. “I would’ve slapped him if he were here. Right in the face, and I wouldn’t have felt bad about it.”
“I wouldn’t have stopped you.” I grinned.
“Is he always like that?”
“Yep. Has been since we were teenagers. And my parents, well, they didn’t care. He’s the golden child. Plus, he’s smart and only does that crap with me when our parents aren’t around.”
“You would think with Blair giving them grandbabies, she would be the favorite.”
Becca was on my side. I appreciated her company more than I could express in words. Even if it was for just for a few days, having Becca on my team felt… right.
“I am quite flipping glad I’m not meeting him today. I don’t care if it’s Christmas, I’d ruin his holiday without question.”
“You and me both.”
Family had the ability to build you up or tear you down, and my family fell into the latter category because Hank was a jerk. I rolled my shoulders, hoping to ease the knot there, but the stressful drive didn’t help.
“You want to talk about it?” she asked after a minute of silence. “I can be a good listener. The girls talk and talk and talk, and I’m skilled at giving advice to others—even if I’m not good at taking my own advice. I’m here, if you want.”
“No. I’m good.” I focused on navigating the roads to my sister’s house. “Look, I should focus on getting us there safely.”
“I understand, really. Trust me.”
