Rock Hard: A Stepbrother Romance (Extreme Sports Alphas) by B. B. Hamel Page A

one mishap, my runs had been clean. I crossed at a new spot every time and I was careful. I didn’t take unnecessary risks.
    A knock at my door pulled me out of my thoughts. I glanced at the stuff arrayed all over my room and considered hiding it.
    “What?” I called out.
    “Reid, it’s me.” Becca’s voice.
    “Hold on.”
    I didn’t have time to put the stuff away. Then again, if I had a legitimate reason for going on the hike, I didn’t have to hide it all from her anyway.
    I pulled open the door and Becca was standing there wearing only a thin black T-shirt and short cotton shorts. I looked her up and down and had to admit that she looked fucking amazing. She probably just rolled out of bed, and yet she looked perfect, like she had spent all day getting ready.
    “What’s up?” I asked her.
    “Nothing. What are you doing?”
    “Packing.”
    “Very descriptive. Packing for what?”
    “I’m doing some guide work tomorrow.”
    “Cool. Who you taking?”
    “Some hunters. They’re looking for bucks. Big male deer.”
    “I know what bucks are. Where’d you find these guys?”
    I paused. “What’s with the questions?”
    “Nothing,” she said, smiling. “Never mind.”
    “I don’t know why, but you look pretty suspicious right now.”
    She laughed. “Sorry. It’s just early.”
    I grunted. “Is that all you wanted, just saying hi?”
    “Oh, no.” She looked a little flustered.
    I leaned against the doorframe and crossed my arms. “Start talking or I’m going to pull you in here and make you work for me.”
    She blinked, her mouth hanging open. “What?”
    “I’ll put you to work packing.”
    She quickly caught herself. “Yeah, right. Anyway, I wanted to ask you about the party tonight.”
    I narrowed my eyes at her. “How did you know about that?”
    “Lindsey invited me.”
    “You’re really going to hang around with that girl?”
    “She’s my friend.”
    “She’s a pill head.”
    That gave her pause. “What are you talking about?”
    “Lindsey is a pill head druggie. Shit, most of the people in this town are.”
    “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