Page 88 of Pucked Together

"All I know is that if Sincaid even thinks for one second that he has a chance with her...I'll probably have to serve time in the same cell you were in."

"Nah, what you're implying is some maximum-security shit. And if that's the case, then your name would finally make sense."

We both laugh. Our parents named us Ryker and Rowan just so they could keep the R-names going. It was dumb. And they were most likely high when they came up with the idea. But they saw it through.

Ronnie. Ruth. Rowan. Ryker.

That was before everything went to shit. Before the drugs took my dad, and left my mom alone and fending for us. Falling for any jerk that would help her put food on the table.

Before...Ted.

"It's gotta be hard for her, man. Give her some time."

"Yeah," I agree. "Time—'cause I've got so much of it."

"You're telling the felon who's been locked up for over a decade. I've got the patience of a saint. And lucky for you, I can give you some of what I got. But you're gonna to have to earn it."

"Lucky me," I smirk at him.

"Get up," he says.

"What? No. Can't you see I'm comfortable?"

"Get up, you pussy."

I look at him with a blank stare.

"Do you trust me, Ry?" My brother says—those light green eyes, just like our mother's, stare back at me.

"With my life," I tell him. And he knows it's true. He's proven himself to me.

"Then get the fuck up." I do as he says, setting my beer next to my lounge chair just as he does, and turn to face him.

My older brother is slightly shorter than me, but not by much. His eyes are pretty much at my eye level.

"Close your eyes."

I do. "Now, wha–"

Before I can even finish the question, I'm being shoved, and my body meets the cool of the water in the pool. Caught off guard, some of the water seeps into my nostrils, making me cough like a maniac. I swat an armful of pool water at Rowan.

"You fucking...asshole." I sputter before he lays it on me from the side of the pool.

"Life's not always going to go the way you expect, brother." He's talking over my splashing as I climb out. "But it's your reaction to it that's going to determine whether or not you're happy with the outcome, regardless. Man the fuck up. Stop sulking. And go win her back."

I spit and cough as I lift myself out of the freezing water.

I hadn't bothered to turn the heater on for the pool. Nobody swims down here once it gets below sixty degrees. So I'm fully dressed in sopping clothes when I rise out of the pool and sprint to catch him in a headlock.

He's laughing as he shifts his body weight in an attempt to get out of my grip. "You wanna teach me a lesson? Well, it's my turn to teach you a fucking lesson."

We fall to the ground, still trying to gain the upper hand over the other. But the years locked away have made my brother stronger than he's ever been, and within seconds he has me pinned to the ground with my face in the grass and his knee on my back.

I'm still freezing, but the adrenaline rush from our fight has me laughing too.

"Ahem," a soft voice calls from above me. "Do you guys have any real food here, or do we just survive off Funyuns and beer?"

Izzy is standing a few feet away with her hands on her hips, and we're both looking up at her. Two sopping wet messes. Row lets go of me and stands, reaching a hand down to hoist me up. I take it and jump up in an instant.

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