Page 23 of Mine to Love
And a thousand percent sexy.
Two weeks in Texas goes by fast, but I manage to get caught up before flying out to Vermont for Holden’s bachelor party, if we can call it that. All my brother wanted was trail riding on ATVs, a long hike, and a cabin to kick back some beers. The simple life looks good on him and Emerson. They’re a lot alike that way.
Holden, Nick, and Curtis, Emerson’s nineteen-year-old brother, meet me at the airport and we drive together up to Stowe. We take it easy the first night since Saturday will be a long day. When the alarm goes off at the ass crack of dawn, we drag on our hiking gear and follow the route Holden has mapped out for us.
My brothers and I are no strangers to arduous hikes and other adventures. I’m not as adventurous as my brothers, but I don’t mind going out a few times a year. Now that Nick is settled with a wife, toddler, and baby on the way, he doesn’t get out as much either. Plus, his medical condition has grounded him. A couple carotid artery dissections will do that to a guy.
Holden doesn’t need the adrenaline rush as much as Nick had in his twenties. He’s more a mountain man, which is my preferred way to relax as well.
“I thought bachelor parties were about sleeping late, booze, and naked women,” Curtis groans before we’ve even hit the five-minute mark on the trail.
Holden smacks him on the back of the head. “I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that.”
“Why so early, man? It’s not even seven.”
“Early mornings and fresh air are good for you.” Holden had been like a big brother to Curtis even before he and Emerson started dating. The kid looks up to Holden, and his hero worship has spread to Nick as well.
I haven’t been around enough to gain that kind of status. I’m working on it. Not the hero worship thing. That, I don’t care about. But I want more of this. Time with my brothers. Time with my parents, with my sister.
Maybe with Reese.
We hike and joke for three hours before reaching the summit of Mount Mansfield. At the top, Nick opens his backpack and hands out trail mix and sandwiches.
“Look at us Pierce brothers representing it all. We’ve got dad,” Nick pounds on his chest, “groom-to-be,” he pats Holden’s shoulder, “confirmed bachelor,” he chucks a grape at my forehead, “and pubescent kid.”
“Hey, I hit puberty in middle school, man.” Curtis tosses a raisin at Nick.
We laugh and make fun of each other while we eat lunch, then head back down the mountain to the cabin. After a meal of steak and potatoes, we sit out back in the Adirondack chairs overlooking the Vermont mountain landscape.
The fire roars in the fire pit, and we break out the beer and whiskey and reminisce about old times back in Texas. After sunset, Nick and Holden’s phones ring, and their faces light up.
“Whipped,” Curtis huffs when they go up to their rooms to talk to Emerson and Skylar. The kid has made a dent in the case of beer and is well on his way to a hangover tomorrow. “Freakin’ women. Mens gotta go...gwo...grow some balls.”
Not a minute later, and Curtis’s phone rings.
“She wants me.” He smirks and answers. “Hey.”
“How you doing, Curtis?”
Reese’s voice echoes through the quiet night. I sit a little straighter and lean to my right to get a better listen.
“Not bad. Just hangin’ wida guys, yaknow.” He drops his phone and lurches forward, falling out of his chair.
I hold back my laugh.
“Shit. I hung up on her.” He fumbles around and then Reese’s face appears. “Sorry ‘boutdat.”
“You okay, bud?”
“Shit, yeah.” Curtis sways in his chair while trying to hold the phone out. He turns to me and whispers loudly, giggling. “She’s in a bikini.”
I’m not about to believe him without checking to see for myself. I prop my elbow on my armrest and lean over, keeping out of view of the phone.
Holy shit. Her breasts are barely contained in a bright red bikini, bobbing just above the surface of the water.
“Curtis, how much have you had to drink?”
“I can cont-wol my al-ho-hall.”