Shooting for the Stars by Sarina Bowen

Author:Sarina Bowen
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Contemporary romance, snowboarding, Vermont, brother's best friend, Lake Tahoe
Publisher: Rennie Road Books
Published: 2015-03-18T16:00:00+00:00

Fourteen

THE NEXT NIGHT, RETURNING from another electrical job for his father, Bear clocked Stella’s car behind Rupert’s again. But this time, he kept on driving.

The 4Runner climbed the hill where Hank lived without too much effort. He let himself into Hank’s house in the usual fashion. He didn’t like what he saw. There was a half-filled whiskey bottle on the table. Uh oh. He heard the sound of a toilet flushing from the direction of the master suite, and felt a prickle of unease.

“Hey man!” he called out. “Are you back there?”

Hank rolled into view a minute later. “Hey,” he said as Bear looked him up and down. Sweatpants. No socks. The T-shirt said “Bob’s Sno-Cat Lodge,” this time. Hank transferred to the sofa, hiking his useless legs into place with one arm before looking up at Bear.

His gaze was steady, and Bear felt himself relax. “What’s shakin’?”

Hank lifted an eyebrow to indicate the ridiculousness of the question. Then he spread both heavily-tattooed arms wide. “The usual nada. Why?”

So Hank was ornery, but not wasted. Things could be worse. Bear toed off his shoes and took a seat on the other side of the L-shaped sectional. He propped his feet on the coffee table, nudging the empty glass with his toe.

“The parents were here earlier,” Hank said. “I treated myself to a little nip after they left.”

“Ah. How are the ’rents these days?”

“Exhausting. My mother is all fired up about this new mobility study at the hospital. I’ve had exactly two hours’ worth of the new therapy, and she’s already looking for a progress update. I pity the people in charge.”

Bear chuckled. Hank might be ornery, but he had his mother pegged. Mrs. Lazarus was a tough cookie. “Maybe the doctor running the study needs the scotch worse than you.”

“Have you met her? Callie Anders?” Hank asked.

Bear shook his head. “You mentioned her a couple of times before, though.” He watched Hank carefully.

Sure enough, Hank twisted his head to the side, hiding a smile. “She’s a hottie. It’s one of the only things I don’t hate about the program. She’s easy on the eyes. And I’m going to be there seven hours a week for a year.”

“I can get you out of it,” Bear offered.

“How? Kidnapping?”

“Sort of. Come out west. Make a film with me.”

Hank didn’t meet Bear’s eyes. “I thought about it.”

This was progress. Bear held his breath.

“I heard what you said, okay? That both of us have to figure out something to do now. I heard you loud and clear, and you are not wrong. And I have no fucking clue what my act two looks like. It’s just that I don’t think I can… face that. Not right now.”

“Okay,” Bear whispered. His throat felt thick. He’d needed Hank to hear him out, and consider the movie, and his friend had done it. The answer wasn’t what he wanted to hear, but, hey, a little more bad news wasn’t exactly a surprise, was it? “So can I ask you about something else?” Bear prompted.

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