Page 42 of Slay Ride

“I thought Bennett dropped it,” Ezra says.

“Uh, he did,” I say.

“But then she dropped it again when she picked it up, and that’s how it got all over the quilt.” Bennett pokes the fire, and a few logs collapse inward. “This should burn out on its own. Why don’t we head back now?”

He hurries to the door, leaving Kindra and Ezra to look at me like I’ve lost my mind.

After what they almost walked in on, maybe I have.

Chapter Seventeen

Bennett

As it turns out, we were closer to the ski lift than we realized. Not that it would have done us any good, considering I lost the key to the only snowmobile not currently trapped inside the shed at the start of the property.

Ezra is pissed. They had to cancel the New Year’s Eve party because of “my shenanigans,” as he put it. Psh. It wouldn’t have been a very good party without me there, anyway.

Kindra, Cat, and I load into the sleigh, and Ezra uses the spare key to drive the snowmobile back to the mansion. I can’t wait to get back to my room so that I can wash all this honey off my body.

The sleigh lurches forward, and I look over at Cat. Lights along the path catch on her face every now and again, but I can’t see her expression through the mask pulled over her lips. She leans over to Kindra every now and then, and the two of them whisper and giggle.

If she knows what’s good for her, she’ll keep her mouth shut. The last thing I need is for my brother and his fiancée to catchwind of what transpired. If this gets out, the pineapple fiasco will pale in comparison.

I wouldn’t care if they made fun of us for fucking each other, but knowing them, it would be the opposite. Not only would they crow about how right they were about us, but they’d get love hearts in their eyes too. If they try barking up that tree, I’ll just have to chop it down. Fucking Cat and wanting to date Cat are two very different things. I’m not certain we’ll fuck again, but I can say with great conviction that dating is firmly off the table.

After a long drive through the dark woods, the sleigh pulls to a stop outside the barn. “Can’t bother taking us all the way to the front door?” I ask as I climb down.

“One of the sleigh’s rails broke on the return trip with Maverick, Eve, and Ice Pick,” Kindra says. “We rigged it for the rescue run to save you two, but I told the coachman to stop at the barn. I don’t want to do more damage.”

That explains why the rescue took so long. And why they had to cancel the party.

I turn to help Cat, then remember that I’m still supposed to hate her. And I do. I hate her. Can’t stand her. I definitely haven’t thought about the cute way she snores.

I trudge toward the mansion and step into a blast of warmth. Ezra stands just inside the front door, so I try to skirt him, but he reaches out and grabs my hood before I can scurry away.

“We need to have a chat,” he says as he pulls me toward the study.

I try to dig in my heels, but he just keeps pulling. “Can’t we talk later? I’ve been in the cold for twelve hours, and I kind of want to shower.”

He stops in the hall, just outside the study door. As he sets his jaw and shakes his head, he looks the picture of my principal in sixth grade when I pulled the fire alarm so I could skip English class.

“Do you realize what could have happened?” he finally says. “And for what? So you could tease Cat? You’re thirty-three years old. It’s time to grow up, Bennett.”

I shrug my shoulders. “What could have happened didn’t happen, though. Hop down from your high horse before you get a nosebleed.”

“Your actions didn’t just affect you and Cat, though. Kindra put a lot of time and effort into that party, and you ruined it. Are you pleased with yourself?”

“Are you just going to keep tossing things at me until something sticks? Ruining the party wasn’t the goal,” I say, and it wasn’t. I feel bad for ruining her party. I’m not completely devoid of all emotions. Just most of them.

“Then what was the goal, hmm? To get Cat so lost in the wilderness that she ends up dead? To be a complete bellend because you’re miserable and you think everyone else needs some misery too? Well, old boy, I’ve got some news for you. Some of us enjoy being happy.”

“I’m not miserable.”

“You’re not?” He rocks back on his heels and laughs. “Could have fooled me. Everyone knows you lost some business after that last hit, and have you forgotten that I’m the emergency contact for your mother when you can’t be reached? You’re struggling to pay for her care. Your life is a shambles, man. Wake up.”

“Fuck you.” I turn to walk away.

Ezra keeps pace beside me as I trudge toward the stairs. “Life doesn’t have to be this way,” he says. “People change all the time. It’s never too late to let go of your pride and accept some help.”

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